It is up to the youth of today to bring about real change

Chandrika Ghosh                                                                              
STD IX, Singapore chinese girls’ school                                                   

I remember spending my holidays in India and volunteering at schools for young girls who were either denied the right to education or could not afford one. Those days made me realise the amount of help society needs. There are some kids, however, who rekindle our hope on humanity. A lot of these young heroes have gone unrecognised. We rely on world leaders to create a safe haven for us. Children all over the world today are showing us that age is just a number.

I have spent a significant part of my life in both Singapore and India. Looking back on the days I spent in Kolkata, I have started  noticing differences in the way that people treat me. In India, I found that people were a lot more accepting, with my neighbours escorting me back home all the way to strangers offering to help carry grocery bags. Singaporeans, on the other hand, are stuck in a never- ending cycle of First World problems, shielding themselves off in their own little bubbles. Then I think how insignificant my problems are compared to what women face in other countries. We, as the global youth of today’s society, will be the ones to bring about change. The inequality between genders is still being overlooked today, like the societal norms in Saudi Arabia that don’t allow women to drive, and in the United Kingdom, where a variety of clubs still remain exclusive to men.

Society has to find ways to bridge gender inequality. The discrimination of women’s rights will, in the long run, affect us all.

A woman named Neerja Bhanot really inspires me. The 22-year-air hostess was on a plane hijacked by terrorists. She managed to evacuate almost all passengers, but three unaccompanied children were left behind. She died shielding them from a storm of bullets and saved their lives. Neerja Bhanot has become the recipient of the prestigious Ashok Chakra award for her courage. This is the kind of change I want to be part of.

One way to bring about change is by raising awareness. If we are more conscious of the circumstance we are in, we can challenge the problems and make the world more convenient for others. There are thousands of women like Neerja Bhanot, out there in the world, but due to disadvantages and a lack of fairness, they do not receive the opportunity to change the world. This generation has to be empowered.  The different grassroots movements depicts one way how change can be initiated.

With the assistance of local efforts, these movements bring about change at the local, national, and even the international level. Significant movements that are impacting the world today would be the Earth Hour, and the Global Fund for Women, which works for advancing the cause of gender quality. I believe that acts of change do not have to be large-scale. If enough awareness is raised about these issues, a small part played by a young child will go a long way, possibly even to save lives.

With the help of older generations, the global youth can change thousands of lives across the globe. The world is changing incessantly, for the better or for the worse, and this is the generation that will have to deal with it all.

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