Why is This Inequality?

Being born and brought up in a joint family, I have experienced subtle forms of gender inequality at home. Though the inequality has never been intense(my parents, uncles, aunts and grans shower equal affection on girls as well),I cannot deny its presence.As soon as my sister was born( three years younger to me), there are few people in my family, who behaved as if a death happened at home.The reason was simply that my parents already had a daughter(myself) and god had punished(?) them with a daughter again. My own father,in later years, shared that he was expecting a baby boy and had prayed for one.Though he was initially upset of having a baby girl again, he could sooner accept my sister with élan. He gave us the best education, whatever we name, he would get for us.But he had never been active in bringing us up like my mother. In fact, my father would not even know the section in which me and my sister were in at school. No matter what it is, illness, tuition classes or parent-teacher meet, it was my mother who would initiate despite her work load. But my mother has never reckoned her daughters as a load on her. Even today she would say that we (me and my sis) are her best assets.

On the other hand, some of my relatives and family friends, who have sons used to throw sympathetic glances on my parents for not been blessed (??) with a son as they are . Today, me and my sister are in no way inferior to their sons.We are educated and employed as their sons are.In fact, we provide helping hand for my father on financial front, which many sons do not do.

The question that keeps haunting me as I write this post is I come from an educationally forward family, which lives in a city for generations. If my educated relatives themselves are biased, what about the illiterate people those who live in villages? I feel education has very limited influence on our attitude. Gender equality is an attitude that our people need to develop consciously. It has been drummed into their heads for generations that having a baby boy is an achievement or an asset for the family. But practically, there are sons those who have abandoned their parents and daughters those who take care of their parents even after their marriage. Will our perspective on gender change??