In
ancient India, the birth of a girl child was hailed as auspicious. We have
inherited the cultural legacy of having strong non-preference among all
communities, religious groups and citizens of varied socio-economic backgrounds. Women
are the receiving end in Indian society. They are ill treated or tortured at
every stage. A girl child is in bondage from her very childhood. She is under
constant vigil, first by the parents, then her husband and finally her own
children. Not only that, she is often condemned to death even before she is
born. This is called female killing in the womb itself.
Women’s
work is limited to household duties. At the time of marriage, dowry is given by
the bride’s family to the groom’s for shouldering ‘the burden of the bride’. In
many communities, as custom female babies are killed immediately after birth,
either by the mother or by elderly women of the family to relieve themselves
from the life of humiliation, rejection and suffering.
Social discrimination against women
results in systematic neglect of women’s health, from womb to tomb. Female
infanticide and female feticide are widely practiced in many States.
The reason of female infanticide can be
linked with the evil of dowry prevailing
in our society. A more degrading and disparaging feature of the society has
seen existing for the last two decades is the immense love for a male child and
the elimination of a female fetus. With the invention of new technologies to
monitor the ‘Fetal’ health, it was expected to be used for taking care of the
health of the unborn child, but it became the terminator of female fetus. Are
female fetus being deliberately eliminated or aborted, is the question? Answer is,
yes!, to a great extent. Are the
technologies (ultra-sonography, material serum analysis etc.) assisting in
elimination? Again the answer is; yes, to a great extent.
The greatest tragedy is that, women
themselves permit the death of their daughters as mercy killing. Unwanted baby
girls are often left on the road or in the maternity homes at night. This is
due to the illegitimate sex before
marriage or due to the death of the husband , who maybe the only source to take
of the mother and child.. This unhealthy practice has caused great imbalance in
the ratio of boys and girls in several states and communities. To prevent this
situation we must provide proper education and strict laws, which can trap the
criminals..
Biologically
girls are stronger. While there can be no moral or ethical justification for
feticide still, it continues to be practiced. In fact sex determination which
was mainly restricted to metros only now, is prevalent in villages as well. If
sex determination tests are allowed to proliferate, and the elimination of female
fetuses allowed, the society should be ready to pay for this sin soon, in near
future.
The greatest supporters of a child
(whether male or female) are the natural parents. If a girl has a father who
loves her and grants all her fundamental rights that girl is invaluable. Fathers often provide material
comforts but deny daughters their right to choose their life partner.
For a daughter there can be no greater
misery, than to know that her father does not support her. If she was an
unwanted child, the despair is compounded. To go through life and realize that
she was thrust on her unwilling parents is a fate much worse than death. What
can be more disgracing than the feeling of nothing more than a contraceptive
failure?
It is true
that women should have the right to abort their unwanted fetus, but if the
technology is being used only to eliminate the female fetus, then it should be
questionable.
The root
cause for elimination of female fetus is to be traced unless the evil of forced
marriages, dowry, and illiteracy among the females are done away, with, but
lives of women will not improve. Banning prenatal sex determination might add a
feather in the caps.
A social
awakening for true respect for the girl child
is required., A lot of honest hard work with full political ‘will’ in this
field can only solve the problem of girl fetus killing.
A few
lines from a poem on women is coming to mind. ..Here for you all…
Women are wonderful!
They are graceful!
They have compassion and concern for fellow beings!
they are care
takers of family & society!
They should be appreciated, admired, respected!
At
the end, I would just say let us educate & sensitize people, change mindset
& attitudes, save girl child on war-footing.
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