In Jain Dharma, Tirthankara is a very rare spiritual status, and in the mainstream tradition the 24 Tirthankaras are described as male. So people often say girls cannot become Tirthankars. But the full Jain view is a little more nuanced.

Simple answer:

• Digambar tradition: a woman does not become a Tirthankara in the present female body; liberation is attained after rebirth in a male body.
• Shwetambar tradition: women can attain moksha, and there is also a tradition that Sri Mallinath was a female Tirthankara.
• So, it is not correct to say women are spiritually inferior. Jainism holds that the soul has no gender; gender belongs to the body, not the soul.

Why this belief exists in Jain texts:

• Tirthankarahood is seen as the result of extreme spiritual purity, right conduct, and karmic maturity.
• Traditional Jain texts describe the Tirthankara body and role in a very specific way, and that description is usually male in most lineages.
• This is a scriptural and traditional distinction, not a statement that women cannot achieve high spiritual realization.

Important Jain principle: A soul becomes pure through samyak darshan, samyak jnān, and samyak charitra — not through gender.

So the respectful Jain answer is: Girls are not denied spiritual liberation, but whether a woman can become a Tirthankara depends on the Jain tradition followed.