Wednesday 31 July 2013

‘I killed 8 girl children’

Yes, this is straight from the mouth of a mother: a mother who was supposed to protect her children, a mother who was supposed to stand before death to defend her children, a mother who was supposed to be the God for her children. But alas this God discriminated against her own children simply because they were girls; she couldn’t stand her own blood when it took a form of a baby girl. This mother, who belongs to the rural South India, killed not one, not two but eight – yes eight – baby girls of hers.
She killed all of them without any kind of remorse because she firmly believes that a girl child is nothing but burden, meant to be killed and buried without a second thought. Are you horrified? I certainly was when I saw this video on FTideaCaravan.com.

More horrifying are the below facts:
  • According to the United Nations, today 200 million girls are missing in this world. This number is greater than the death toll of WWI and WWII combined.
  • Every year, 5 million girls are selectively aborted.
  • The mortality rate for girls under the age of 5 is 75% higher
  • Every year, 107,000 women die due to dowry

Mind-boggling, isn’t it? Or is it really? Aren’t we aware of these issues? How many times do we open up newspapers and read about one or the other atrocities committed against a woman, be it a rape, dowry, honor killing or female infanticide? And what do we do about it? Nothing. Oh, sorry. I am wrong. We do something: we blame the government, we blame the politicians, we blame the terrorists, we blame the society, we blame our relatives, and when we run out of all the blaming, we finally blame stars and astrology. In fact, if we could, we would even blame fishes and plants. Alas, everybody and everything is to blame for this gendercide (a systematic elimination of a female gender) but us. We are pure and pious who love sons and daughters equally, who treat them equally, aren’t we? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Loud and clear. Because we are the ones at the root of this problem. We are the ones who decided that women are not that important. We are the ones who invented the male preference. We are the ones who consider women are nothing more than pesky flies who need to be killed as soon as they are born; and if they survive their birth, she need to be tortured and killed in the name of dowry.

So is there going to be any end to this gendercide? Are the females ever going to be safe in our society? Well, the answers to these questions lie within us. The day we stop considering females as the weaker sex and start considering them more as human beings with equal rights to live as men is the day we will move forward. The day we stop considering the words “It’s a girl” as a curse is the day of the beginning of new era. The day we stop looking for excuses for this gendercide and turn the mirror around look within us is the day when we stop being monsters and start being human beings in the true sense.



So as an individual, what can we do? The answer is very simple. We can

  • Consider daughters and sons equal
  • Give proper education to girl child
  • Teach independency to women around you
  • Teach the man around you to respect women


So let’s take an oath together: we will give our level best to stop this barbaric behavior against women; we will stand against the people who precipitate gendercide.

Please watch this video of Evan Grae Davis, an American film-maker who is actively trying to stop this gendercide and make it into a distant memory.



This video was recorded during a meet by FranklinTempletonInvestments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.

This entry is a part of The Idea Caravan contest by IndiBlogger.

20 comments:

  1. Nice writeup Pankti, Wish the people like us be able to understand this evil and have courage enough to take a stand against it...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Punit. And yes, we need courage to defy this situation in the society. Once few people start, a new wave will emerge to fight this problem.

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  2. nicely written, I have seen educated families with working ladies having this kind of attitude. they openly discriminate b/w their sons and daughters..we need to open our eyes and come out of this cocoon on hypocrisy. At one hand we worship women and on the others degrade them them to the lowest levels.

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    1. Yes AS. Unfortunately, just being educated doesn't stop you from discriminating between sons and daughters unless your are aware from within. I hope the situation will change one day. Thanks for dropping by.

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  3. Replies
    1. Yes Diwakar. But I have hope that we will see a change in our collective thinking one day.

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  4. Nice post... and Nice expectations !

    But do you think psychological teachings can be imparted easily ?

    Even if this education is provided at primary level, then shall it be suffice to wipe what a child learns at his rustic upbringing ?

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    Replies
    1. AV, this is neither an easy task nor an impossible one. Little by little, we can bring a change in our thinking and that can ultimately lead to a better society. But it will take time. Alas, Rome was not built in a day, was it?

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  5. Strongly stressed the need very clearly. Very aptly said.

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  6. Aersh, I absolutely agree with you. Women race face hatred from men as well as from women. Men hate them for a variety of reasons and women hate each other because they have only one mentality: I suffered and so why not you.

    This process of getting rid of such hatred is long and a complex one. I just hope one day we will be able to get rid of this mindless hate chain and be free in true sense.

    Thanks for dropping by :)

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  7. Now that is a Great Wirtup and I am sure every sensible Human Being at least in this 21st century will agree to your points but still there lot to be done in terms of making people aware of their ill deeds..Discriminating b/w Sons and Daughters is now matter of past but still some people proudly hold onto such cultures,Some still believe giving equal opportunity to Women is just an insult to Men...
    We need to stand together and must eliminate such evil deeds..

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    1. Unfortunately, I come from a culture where there's a distinct discrimination between a son and a daughter. Throughout my life I have seen it. And yes, until we stand together against this evil, there's no hope of slaying this monster named Women Hatred.

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  8. Great write up Pankti. This is sad but true. We have to continue talking about it again and again. We have to continue with our fight;educate more and more people. May be the next generation would face easier life because of our efforts!

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    Replies
    1. Yes Sfurti but it's long, tedious and complex process. Unless we are determined, we will never see the change.

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  9. Yes, unfortunately it's the case. :(

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  10. If he is against feticide, why he didn't report this incident to police and get the woman arrested? Or is it the fake story created by him to promote his film? It is shame on Indian audience who are promoting his film in this way. This should have been reported to police first and no one from audience raised this question? he hs made a business by showing our country in bad light

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  11. If he is against feticide, why he didn't report this incident to police and get the woman arrested? Or is it the fake story created by him to promote his film? It is shame on Indian audience who are promoting his film in this way. This should have been reported to police first and no one from audience raised this question? he hs made a business by showing our country in bad light

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, this is about creating awareness. You are talking like a mother who is sheltering her son for killing her daughter in the name of honor killing.

      Sometimes when entire villages think like that, even police is helpless. Police can't arrest entire villages. Even Khap Panchayat do all these things. Are any member of the Khap Panchayat ever been arrested until now? This is a social issue wherein police do not make impact majority of the time.

      I hope you realize what I am trying to say here.

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  12. Pantki, I am honored you chose my talk to feature as your post for IdeaCaravan. Great blog!

    Evan
    http://evangraedavis.com/dozens-of-indian-bloggers-take-on-gendercide-after-seeing-tedx-talk/

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    Replies
    1. Evan, it's me who should be thankful to you for taking up the subject which is close to my heart. I hope you are successful in your fight against gendercide. Best wishes to you!

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