The answer is met with excitement and happiness. However in certain cultures the gender does not matter and the birth of the baby girl is considered as a curse. There have been many advances in the world, in our society yet what we lack is basic knowledge toward social issues and in humanity. Every other day on social media I see feeds where a girl child is either found somewhere near the trash or someone rescues the girl child. In fact I remember that a dog had found a baby girl near the trash and stayed there protecting the baby till someone came for help.
It has been estimated that 50 million girls and women are missing from India’s population because of termination of the female foetus. Female Foeticide in India has increased by 49.2%. In India, the female to male ratio is 1.08 males for every female. This is due to the societal limitations placed on the birth of girls.
Female foeticide is the very first step towards the discrimination of women and girls. It is gender selective abortion where a female fetus is illegally terminated solely based on the reason that the fetus is a girl.
The irony is even few elderly women hate girl children. They forget and do not realize one thing, that they too were born as a girl child and become women as they aged. This has occurred due to the influence or the ways they were taught in their early days.
Incidences are increasing as families perceive that bearing a daughter does not make any economic sense and does not provide any social advantage leading to the bias of favoring male children. In Fact, families try to avoid girl children also due to dowry. Dowry according to me is nothing then begging as you are not capable nor you will ever be throughout your life time. Looking up to the son as a breadwinner has made the evil practice of female foeticide to become common in the middle and higher socioeconomic households, especially in the northern states, followed by some southern states in recent times.
Despite the existence of the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act, there is a dire need to strengthen this law since the number of convictions is despairingly low as compared to the burden posed by this crime.
The preference for a son continues to be a prevalent norm in the traditional Indian household. Parents also give too much importance to a boy child, groom him by giving all attention, all facilities thinking that they would take care of them when they get aged. Now the reality is most of such boys once they attain manhood and when they settle in life with lots of wealth and other facilities totally forget their parents and go away with their wife and kids to lead an independent life.
India is a place where we worship many Gods and Goddesses. Yet we murder an innocent. In fact Ancient Indian Vedic texts gave a lot of importance to the worship of goddesses.
The law giver once said that“The gods are satisfied wherever women are honoured, but where they are not respected, rites and prayers are ineffectual” Even today one can witness and see a number of temples specifically built only for women deities. In Tamil Nadu those temples are called ‘amman’ temples, in Telugu belt, those temples are called ‘ammavaru’ temples, in Kerala such women specific temples are called ‘bagawathi’ temples and so on and so forth in different states all over India.
In some families, if a woman after marriage did not give birth to a boy child, either she would be tortured or sent out of home to her parent’s place. And in some instances, she got killed too for not giving birth to a boy child. And the parents of the boy forces him to marry again, thinking that the new daughter-in-law might give birth to a boy child. What idiotic thinking?
In this patriarchal society, sons are preferred over daughters for many different reasons. Whether it be economically or socially, women and girls are seen as weak than men.
The government on its part launched the “Save the girl child campaign”. Do not know how many know about this. If not, get the information about it and be a part of that campaign. Various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are already taking an active lead in this area. Need to remove the myth that girl child is a burden from the minds of those who practice it even today and also bring in the awareness that it is against law.
Girl child is not a burden,
Sarojini Naidu, an Indian Independence activist, poet and politician. She is Known as the ‘The Nightingale of India’
Mother Teresa who was a Roman Catholic Nun who devoted her life to serving the poor and destitute around the world.
- Lakshmi thi ya Durga thi woh swayan veerta ki avatar
dekh Marathey pulkit hotey uski talwaron key vaar,
nakli yudh-vyuh ki rachna aur khelna khub shikar,
sainya gherna, durg todna yeh they uskey preeya khilwad.
Maharashtra-kul-devi uski bhi aaradhya bhavani thi,
Bundeley Harbolon key munh hamney suni kahani thi,
Khoob ladi mardani woh to Jhansi wali Rani thi.
Rani Laxmi Bai, the most prominent warrior
4. Kalpana Chawla who was an American astronaut, engineer, and the first female of Indian origin to go to space. And many more and the list never ends.
The government need to keep an eye on all gender determination centres and abortion clinics, who leaving what purpose for what they are meant, instead to make a quick buck keep using the centres for illegal purposes in unethical ways.
In a bid to encourage families to have girl children, prevent female foeticide and educate the girl child, the government launched Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign in January 2015. Finally, whether it is a girl child or boy child, all God’s gift, God’s creation. Accept what He gives, what He blesses with and never ever destroy his creation. You never know if she might become a another Mother Teresa or Sarojini Devi Naidu or Rani Laxmi Bai or Kalpana Chawla
Comments
Post a Comment