The role of Sri Lankan Tamil girls in maintain and preserving the traditional values in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island which attracted very many people from foreign countries. Sri Lanka is popular for its natural beauty and resources. Besides these Sri Lanka is a country which has been strictly following socio cultural economics and religious values, there are numerous Hindus, Buddhist temples, churches and mosques. In ancient Sri Lanka people were very pious and strictly follows the religious rituals and followed their traditional norms. In this article the role of Sri Lankan teenage girls in maintaining and preserving the traditional values are discussed.
In earlier times people in Sri Lanka lived together. Quantity of one family in the past was larger than today. The great grandparents dominated the families in all the manner. They read the Ithikasa Puranas and other religious literature and explained the morals embedded in them. They lived an exemplary life. Their children and grandchildren respected them, followed their values. When a baby girl is born the entire family took care of the girl. The teenage girls in the families are very much cared by giving good and nursing food. The girls were taught how to be safe and secure and not to get deceived by others. They were taught to look after themselves as well as others by learning to cook and doing other family chores. Generally, the girls learned aesthetic skills and they were trained to get involved in other skills such as embroidery, knitting, weaving and making handy crafts. The girls were fully engaged in work at home. In earlier time only a handpicked number of girls were allowed to study. In present Sri Lanka, the teenage girls play a different role here unlike the earlier time the family shifted from their home town for educational and occupational purposes. They live as single families. Both the parents go for work and children are left at home in order to make their children occupied and stay at home. Parents give them phones, computers and televisions. But majority of the teenagers misuse them without proper guide and knowledge and get fully engaged in them and neglect their studies. Gradually they get into the present trend of using social medias and attend parties with unknown people and spend time in coffee shops and snack bars. Driven by the rootless teenagers’ behavior by fake attractions and trends. They will be dragged and to do mean deeds if they are not guided by the parents.
Now a days, teenage girls in Sri Lanka except the few take their own decisions without discussing with their parents. It is when there are some serious incident take place. The parents, teachers and others have no knowledge about the activities of the teenage girls. The teenage girls are helpless when they are caught in the so-called fashion, trend and behavoiur which bring harm to them and destroyed their good future. So, there are lots of drop outs in schools. They look for jobs in teenage itself. Therefore, the situation has worsened to the level of hunting jobs at teenage to fulfill their mean deeds.
Teenage is a period where confusion and small matters seem really big. Today teenage girls in Sri Lanka very much behaved like the ones in the developed countries. The most common problems the girls facing are changes in their appearance, self-esteem, education, bullying, friendship, opposite gender attraction, menstruation and depression. In the developed countries there are many organizations to check the behavior and gave counselling for the teenage girls. In Sri Lanka every day we hear, watch horrible gender-based harassment and raping and murdering and hiring teenage girls for child labour and for various other men purposes. Even in Sri Lanka teenage girls are tempted by giving money, dresses and other facilities by drug traffickers and other sexual activities and also, they are using them for robbing and pickpocketing.
In conclusion, the teenage is the sensitive age girls facing lots of challenges like two sides of a coin. The parents, school, neighbors, kit and kin and the country have to take urgent and necessary actions and make them involved in other productive educational activities and redeem them from getting involved in malicious activities. Teenage girls must be cared advised, entertained, and watched by their parents. The use of phones and computers should be restricted. Make sure that your teenage girl understand that she should focus on study well and obtain good marks also do not forget that grades are no way of judging a child’s talent. Low grades do not make anyone less educated or less talented. There are plenty of ways in this earth to show her skills and talents that she can prove herself in. Encourage her to take up extra-curricular activities that she likes. Teach how to be safe and all about precaution too, as you may not always be able to control her relationships and tell that it is alright to fight with friends and learn to say no. Having problems and difference in opinions are not bad. The best way is to discuss these problems and then forget about them. Monitor friends that she makes and ensure that they are the right company.
Looking after, safe guarding and protecting teenage girls and making them good citizen is not only a parent’s duty but also the country’s responsibility.
– Bavvatharani Ravindran
Nallur
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