Watch: Girls defying stereotypes in boy-sparse village in Poland

Watch: Girls defying stereotypes in boy-sparse village in Poland
Copyright Reuters
By Sinead Barry with Reuters
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The trainee volunteer fire brigade in the village is comprised of only girls, with the youngest firefighter, Maja Golasz aged just two and a half.

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In a Polish village where no boy has been born for almost ten years, young girls are training for roles usually reserved for men.

The trainee volunteer fire brigade in Miejsce Odrzanskie — in southern Poland near the border with the Czechia — is comprised of only girls, with the youngest firefighter, Maja Golasz, aged just two and a half.

Maja's father and grandfather were both firefighters, explained the young girl's mother, who said that the child would also go on to fight fires for a living.

"There are no boys, so the women need to do the job," said one volunteer firefighter Oliwia Filipczak.

The children perform a number of activities as part of their training, including firefighting drills and first aid. Often, the girls use teddy-bears to practise first aid on.

The lack of male births in the region is a demographic mystery in the rural village. Rajmund Frischko, the county mayor, is now offering a prize to couples that have a son.

Additional sources • Video Editor: Olivier Vigouroux

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