You want to take control over, and make decisions about your own life. In many countries however, young women in particular cannot make choices. They are discriminated against in both education and employment and lack political, legal, economic, property, inheritance and reproductive rights. In many societies, a son is preferred as only a male may continue the family name and inherit land. In those societies where the dowry system operates, girls become an additional expense.
Discrimination continues in education.
In less developed countries, for every 100 boys attending primary school only 79 girls attend. In secondary schools it gets even worse with 59 girls attending for every 100 boys. Arranged marriages, pregnancy and poor health due to unsafe abortions will all curtail a girl's education. Once married a young wife is expected to prove her fertility, even though the risk of death during teenage childbirth is around 3 times higher than for those aged 20 or over. Early childbearing, together with a lack of access to contraception, results in too many pregnancies, too close together.