Hey friends, the main aim of this blog is to spread awareness about the importance of saving the girl child. Here we will discuss the current problems girls are facing these days , causes of female foeticide and how we can contribute to stop this cruel practice.... SAVE A GIRL CHILD TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW.........!!!! Would you raise your voice against Female Foeticide ?
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Saturday, 24 December 2011
'Daughters are an asset'
LUDHIANA: The department of human development at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) organized an awareness camp against female foeticide for the residents of Ayali Khurd on Tuesday.
The department head, Jatinder K Gulati, urged parents to consider their daughters an asset rather than a liability on the family. Anurag Chaudhary, head of social and preventive medicine department, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, made the women aware of the consequences of repetitive abortions, importance of nutrition for girls during their adolescent years and for young mothers during their pregnancy.
Lawyers Harsimrat Kaur and Ajay Arora motivated the women to exercise their decision-making power and right in planning their family size, irrespective of the sex of their existing children.
During the camp, MSc student Rupinder recited a poem of Gurbhajan Gill, 'Rakhri di tand khatre vich'.
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ludhiana/Daughters-are-an-asset/articleshow/11188481.cms
Sunday, 27 November 2011
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ।
ਦਿਲ ਚਾਹਿਆ ਦੁਰਕਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ
ਧੀ ਰਾਣੀ ਮੁੜ ਬਣ ਕੇ ਤੇਰੀ,ਤੇਰੀ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਆਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ.........
...
ਕਿਉਂ ਪੁੱਤਰ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਲੱਗਦੇ?ਧੀਆਂ ਪੱਥਰ ਭਾਰੇ ਲੱਗਦੇ?
ਪੁੱਤਰ-ਧੀ ਦਾ ਫ਼ਰਕ ਨਾ ਕੋਈ,ਧੀ ਜੰਮਣ ਦਾ ਹਿਰਖ਼ ਨਾ ਕੋਈ।
ਦੇ ਕੇ ਹੋਕਾ ਜੱਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਾਰੇ,ਜੱਗ ਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਸਮਝਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ..........
ਜੱਗ ਵੇਖਣ ਦੀ ਰੀਝ ਸੀ ਮੇਰੀ।ਆਸਮਾਨ ‘ਤੇ ਨੀਝ ਸੀ ਮੇਰੀ।
ਕਲਪਨਾ-ਚਾਵਲਾ ਬਣ ਮੈਂ ਅੰਮੀਏਂ, ਧਰਤ ਦਾ ਗੇੜਾ ਲਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਪੂਰੀ ਗਈ ਰੀਝ ਜਦ ਮੇਰੀ, ਤੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਚਮਕਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ..........
ਤੂੰ ਵੀ ਔਰਤ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ ਔਰਤ, ਫਿਰ ਕਿਉਂ ਨਫ਼ਰਤ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਕਰਦੀ?
ਮੇਰੇ ਜਨਮ ‘ਤੇ ਫਿਰ ਕਿਉਂ ਮਾਏਂ ਲੰਮੇ ਲੰਮੇ ਹੌਕੇ ਭਰਦੀ?
ਤੇਰੇ ਏਦਾਂ ਕਰਨ ‘ਤੇ ਅੰਮੀਏ ਮੈਂ ਤਾਂ ਬਾਜ ਨਾ ਆਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ..........
ਕਿਉਂ ਐਵੇਂ ਤੂੰ ਜ਼ਿੱਦ ਪਈ ਕਰਦੀ, ਮੇਰੇ ਵਾਂਗੂੰ ਤਿਲ ਤਿਲ ਮਰਦੀ?
ਧਰਤੀ ਔਰਤ ਜਣਨ ਹਾਰੀਆਂ, ਏਸੇ ਲਈ ਗੁਰਾਂ ਸਤਿਕਾਰੀਆਂ।
ਲੈ ਕੇ ਚਾਨਣ ਵਿਦਿਆ ਵਾਲਾ ਕੁਲ਼੍ਹ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਚਮਕਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ..........
ਐ! ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਗਾਫ਼ਿਲ ਲੋਕੋ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਬਾਰੇ ਵੀ ਕੁਝ ਤਾਂ ਸੋਚੋ।
ਧਰਤ ‘ਚੋਂ ਜੇਕਰ ਮੁੱਕ ਗਿਆ ਪਾਣੀ, ਕੁੱਖਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਜੇ ਧੀ-ਧਿਆਣੀ।
ਕਿੱਦਾਂ ਪੁਤ ਵਿਆਹਵੋਗੇ,ਕਿਹਨੂੰ ਨਹੁੰ ਬਣਾਵੋਗੇ?
ਕਿਉਂ ਸਮਝ ਨਹੀਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪੈਂਦੀ,’ਤੀਰ’ ਤੋਂ ਸਿੱਖਿਆਂ ਕਿਉਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੈਂਦੀ?
ਜੱਗ ਤੇ ਰੌਲਾ ਪਾ ਕੇ ਮੈ ਵੀ ਵਾਰ ਵਾਰ ਸਮਝਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ..........
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ।
ਦਿਲ ਚਾਹਿਆ ਦੁਰਕਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ
ਧੀ ਰਾਣੀ ਮੁੜ ਬਣ ਕੇ ਤੇਰੀ,ਤੇਰੀ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਆਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਤੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ ਜਿੱਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਵੀ,ਧੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਅਖਵਾਵਾਂਗੀ।
ਬੇਸ਼ਕ ਕੁੱਖ ‘ਚ ਮਾਰ ਲੈ ਅੰਮੀਏ........
Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=277515468953101&set=a.203239263047389.44717.202913923079923&type=1&theater
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
Mumbai can't call itself a safe city for women
BLASTS, riots and terror attacks have been unsuccessful in taking the sheen off Maximum City. But a demon lurking within may just be able to do that.
Mumbai was always touted as a "safe city" for women. But with growing cases of eve-teasing and assaults on people who protest this evil, it may soon lose this tag.
Following the murders of two young men for protesting a woman friend being harassed, the city's citizens have initiated several campaigns to make their intolerance for eve-teasing clear. But even as the police are forming squads to nab eve-teasers and opening up helpline numbers, as many as three cases of eve-teasing in the past one week have created a sense of insecurity among the women.
In a fresh incident, the police on Saturday arrested three men from suburban Juhu for allegedly misbehaving with a girl and attacking another who confronted them.
Lakhan Devendra, Tambi Devendra and Shiva Devendra began harassing a girl on Thursday night near an ice cream shop in Juhu. When eyewitness Ajay Hogade intervened, he was thrashed. His sister Rupali too protested the harassment of the other girl. These men then attacked her and bit off a portion of her thumb. The police finally arrested the trio following Rupali’s complaint.
In a similar case, an eve-teaser slashed off the finger of a man in Dombivli who objected to his wife being harassed. Bipin Dalani, 46, was allegedly attacked by Maruti Mane on Thursday after the former protested the harassment of his wife Kavita. Mane is absconding even as the police have registered a complaint against him.
Both these instances have brought back the bitter memory of the brutal murders of Reuben Fernandez and Keenan Santos on October 20. The boys were attacked by group of men in Andheri with choppers after they objected to the men harassing one of their women friends and Keenan’s girlfriend.
Keenan died on the spot, while Reuben succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
The rising incidents of eveteasing have left women feeling insecure. Samantha Pinto, an IT professional, said: "Though Mumbai is safer than many other cities, it can no longer be considered absolutely safe.
Hooligans in crowded trains and railway platforms think they can get away with anything. We need a better police mechanism.” The city youth have formed groups on social networking sites demanding stricter laws and modifications of sections in the Indian Penal Code dealing with harassment of women.
Individual police zones under the city commissionerate have also launched their own actions against miscreants.
DCP Vishwas Nagre Patil of the Western Zone set up a special squad last week to round up people who harass women.
Within four days of its formation, the squad had cornered over 60 people. Maharashtra's minister of state for home Satej Patil has had a text message sent to all mobile users detailing the police numbers and helplines that one can call in cases of eve- teasing. But women think this is not enough.
Ruchika Gupta, a corporate executive, said: “ Is it practical to dial a number when one is in the middle of a crisis? And, we all know how the police respond to such calls. We need better policing on the city’s roads.” But Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said although the incidents were unfortunate, it did not represent the general state of the city. “ The discussion was triggered after the Amboli attack ( which killed Reuben and Keenan), but I do not think that Mumbai is unsafe for women. We are constantly available whenever there is an emergency and all police numbers are known to the people.” The commissioner said while it was impossible to constitute a special squad with about 30 per cent of the force to take care of the menace, DCPs in some zones had taken steps to curb this menace.
"But I want to assure the women citizens in the city that the police are always there to help and safeguard them in need,” he added.
source:http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/mumbai-can-t-call-itself-a-safe-city-for-women.html
Mumbai was always touted as a "safe city" for women. But with growing cases of eve-teasing and assaults on people who protest this evil, it may soon lose this tag.
Following the murders of two young men for protesting a woman friend being harassed, the city's citizens have initiated several campaigns to make their intolerance for eve-teasing clear. But even as the police are forming squads to nab eve-teasers and opening up helpline numbers, as many as three cases of eve-teasing in the past one week have created a sense of insecurity among the women.
In a fresh incident, the police on Saturday arrested three men from suburban Juhu for allegedly misbehaving with a girl and attacking another who confronted them.
Lakhan Devendra, Tambi Devendra and Shiva Devendra began harassing a girl on Thursday night near an ice cream shop in Juhu. When eyewitness Ajay Hogade intervened, he was thrashed. His sister Rupali too protested the harassment of the other girl. These men then attacked her and bit off a portion of her thumb. The police finally arrested the trio following Rupali’s complaint.
In a similar case, an eve-teaser slashed off the finger of a man in Dombivli who objected to his wife being harassed. Bipin Dalani, 46, was allegedly attacked by Maruti Mane on Thursday after the former protested the harassment of his wife Kavita. Mane is absconding even as the police have registered a complaint against him.
Both these instances have brought back the bitter memory of the brutal murders of Reuben Fernandez and Keenan Santos on October 20. The boys were attacked by group of men in Andheri with choppers after they objected to the men harassing one of their women friends and Keenan’s girlfriend.
Keenan died on the spot, while Reuben succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
The rising incidents of eveteasing have left women feeling insecure. Samantha Pinto, an IT professional, said: "Though Mumbai is safer than many other cities, it can no longer be considered absolutely safe.
Hooligans in crowded trains and railway platforms think they can get away with anything. We need a better police mechanism.” The city youth have formed groups on social networking sites demanding stricter laws and modifications of sections in the Indian Penal Code dealing with harassment of women.
Individual police zones under the city commissionerate have also launched their own actions against miscreants.
DCP Vishwas Nagre Patil of the Western Zone set up a special squad last week to round up people who harass women.
Within four days of its formation, the squad had cornered over 60 people. Maharashtra's minister of state for home Satej Patil has had a text message sent to all mobile users detailing the police numbers and helplines that one can call in cases of eve- teasing. But women think this is not enough.
Ruchika Gupta, a corporate executive, said: “ Is it practical to dial a number when one is in the middle of a crisis? And, we all know how the police respond to such calls. We need better policing on the city’s roads.” But Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said although the incidents were unfortunate, it did not represent the general state of the city. “ The discussion was triggered after the Amboli attack ( which killed Reuben and Keenan), but I do not think that Mumbai is unsafe for women. We are constantly available whenever there is an emergency and all police numbers are known to the people.” The commissioner said while it was impossible to constitute a special squad with about 30 per cent of the force to take care of the menace, DCPs in some zones had taken steps to curb this menace.
"But I want to assure the women citizens in the city that the police are always there to help and safeguard them in need,” he added.
source:http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/mumbai-can-t-call-itself-a-safe-city-for-women.html
Thursday, 10 November 2011
11,000 college students to work as 'save girl sainiks'
CHANDIGARH: Worried over the " missing girls",
red cross societies in Haryana will train over 11,000 college students,
preferably girls, as "save girl sainiks" to launch a campaign against female foeticide in the state known for a skewed gender ratio in the country.
The details of these sainks, including their photographs and bio-data, will be displayed on the website of red cross societies to keep in touch with them even after they leave their respective institutions. To train the sainiks seminars will be organized in colleges and experts will give them tips to motivate parents to save the girl child.
"With this move, at least these 11,000 sainiks won't indulge in female foeticide," said Shyam Sunder, media advisor of Haryana Red Cross Society adding that each sainik would get an identity card. "These students will turn into parents in coming years and we hope that they won't forget the importance of girls. As parents, they will be in a position to make a change by deciding against gender bias," said Syham Sunder, who is also secretary of Red Cross Society, Yamunanagar.
"We will initiate this campaign from Yamunanagar," he said, adding that he has already coordinated with two colleges in this regard. During his tenure in Bhiwani as secretary, Red Cross secretary Shyam Sunder had introduced various innovative ideas like "kuan pujan" (worship of well) and "thali beating" on the birth of a girl child and an eighth "phera" while solemnizing weddings with an oath against female foeticide.
"In Bhiwani, we had received a good response from colleges in the save girl child campaign," he claimed, adding that just action against ultrasound centres won't yield good results in absence of support from the society.
About the new campaign, Haryana Red Cross state secretary G P Taneja has sent a communication to all deputy commissioners, who are presidents of district red cross societies, to initiate the campaign in their districts. "After seminars, a save girl team will be set up in each district which will work under the supervision of deputy commissioner and civil surgeon concerned," Taneja added in the communication.
Despite all efforts, the state has witnessed decline especially in the child sex ratio which is monitored on a monthly basis under central registration system (CRS) by recording birth of children. As per the complied figures of first eight months of 2011, the sex ratio is just 826 girls: 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years, in comparison to 833:1000 of the corresponding period in 2010 in Haryana. Even the census figures released in March this year had suggested that the state has 830 girls for each 1,000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/11000-college-students-to-work-as-save-girl-sainiks/articleshow/10650782.cms
The details of these sainks, including their photographs and bio-data, will be displayed on the website of red cross societies to keep in touch with them even after they leave their respective institutions. To train the sainiks seminars will be organized in colleges and experts will give them tips to motivate parents to save the girl child.
"With this move, at least these 11,000 sainiks won't indulge in female foeticide," said Shyam Sunder, media advisor of Haryana Red Cross Society adding that each sainik would get an identity card. "These students will turn into parents in coming years and we hope that they won't forget the importance of girls. As parents, they will be in a position to make a change by deciding against gender bias," said Syham Sunder, who is also secretary of Red Cross Society, Yamunanagar.
"We will initiate this campaign from Yamunanagar," he said, adding that he has already coordinated with two colleges in this regard. During his tenure in Bhiwani as secretary, Red Cross secretary Shyam Sunder had introduced various innovative ideas like "kuan pujan" (worship of well) and "thali beating" on the birth of a girl child and an eighth "phera" while solemnizing weddings with an oath against female foeticide.
"In Bhiwani, we had received a good response from colleges in the save girl child campaign," he claimed, adding that just action against ultrasound centres won't yield good results in absence of support from the society.
About the new campaign, Haryana Red Cross state secretary G P Taneja has sent a communication to all deputy commissioners, who are presidents of district red cross societies, to initiate the campaign in their districts. "After seminars, a save girl team will be set up in each district which will work under the supervision of deputy commissioner and civil surgeon concerned," Taneja added in the communication.
Despite all efforts, the state has witnessed decline especially in the child sex ratio which is monitored on a monthly basis under central registration system (CRS) by recording birth of children. As per the complied figures of first eight months of 2011, the sex ratio is just 826 girls: 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years, in comparison to 833:1000 of the corresponding period in 2010 in Haryana. Even the census figures released in March this year had suggested that the state has 830 girls for each 1,000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/11000-college-students-to-work-as-save-girl-sainiks/articleshow/10650782.cms
Friday, 28 October 2011
"Wife-sharing" haunts Indian villages as girls decline
By Nita Bhalla
BAGHPAT, India (TrustLaw) - When Munni arrived in this fertile, sugarcane-growing region of north India as a young bride years ago, little did she imagine she would be forced into having sex and bearing children with her husband's two brothers who had failed to find wives.
"My husband and his parents said I had to share myself with his brothers," said the woman in her mid-40s, dressed in a yellow sari, sitting in a village community centre in Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh.
"They took me whenever they wanted -- day or night. When I resisted, they beat me with anything at hand," said Munni, who had managed to leave her home after three months only on the pretext of visiting a doctor.
"Sometimes they threw me out and made me sleep outside or they poured kerosene over me and burned me."
Such cases are rarely reported to police because women in these communities are seldom allowed outside the home unaccompanied, and the crimes carry deep stigma for the victims. So there may be many more women like Munni in the mud-hut villages of the area.
Munni, who has three sons from her husband and his brothers, has not filed a police complaint either.
Social workers say decades of aborting female babies in a deeply patriarchal culture has led to a decline in the population of women in some parts of India, like Baghpat, and in turn has resulted in rising incidents of rape, human trafficking and the emergence of "wife-sharing" amongst brothers.
Aid workers say the practice of female foeticide has flourished among several communities across the country because of a traditional preference for sons, who are seen as old-age security.
"We are already seeing the terrible impacts of falling numbers of females in some communities," saysBhagyashri Dengle, executive director of children's charity Plan India.
"We have to take this as a warning sign and we have to do something about it or we'll have a situation where women will constantly be at risk of kidnap, rape and much, much worse."
SECRET PRACTICES
Just two hours drive from New Delhi, with its gleaming office towers and swanky malls, where girls clad in jeans ride motor bikes and women occupy senior positions in multi-nationals, the mud-and-brick villages of Baghpat appear a world apart.
Here, women veil themselves in the presence of men, are confined to the compounds of their houses as child bearers and home makers, and are forbidden from venturing out unaccompanied.
Village men farm the lush sugarcane plantations or sit idle on charpoys, or traditional rope beds, under the shade of trees in white cotton tunics, drinking tea, some smoking hookah pipes while lamenting the lack of brides for their sons and brothers.
The figures are telling.
According to India's 2011 census, there are only 858 women to every 1,000 men in Baghpat district, compared to the national sex ratio of 940.
Child sex ratios in Baghpat are even more skewed and on the decline with 837 girls in 2011 compared to 850 in 2001 -- a trend mirrored across districts in states such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
"In every village, there are at least five or six bachelors who can't find a wife. In some, there are up to three or four unmarried men in one family. It's a serious problem," says Shri Chand, 75, a retired police constable.
"Everything is hush, hush. No one openly admits it, but we all know what is going on. Some families buy brides from other parts of the country, while others have one daughter-in-law living with many unwedded brothers."
Women from other regions such as Jharkhand and West Bengal speak of how their poor families were paid sums of as little as 15,000 rupees ($300) by middle-men and brought here to wed into a different culture, language and way of life.
"It was hard at first, there was so much to learn and I didn't understand anything. I thought I was here to play," said Sabita Singh, 25, who was brought from a village in West Bengal at the age of 14 to marry her husband, 19 years her elder.
"I've got used to it," she says holding her third child in her lap. "I miss my freedom."
Such exploitation of women is illegal in India, but many of these crimes are gradually becoming acceptable among such close-knit communities because the victims are afraid to speak out and neighbours unwilling to interfere.
Some villagers say the practice of brothers sharing a wife has benefits, such as the avoidance of division of family land and other assets amongst heirs.
Others add the shortage of women has, in fact, freed some poor families with daughters from demands for substantial dowries by grooms' families.
Social activists say nothing positive can be derived from the increased exploitation of women, recounting cases in the area of young school girls being raped or abducted and auctioned off in public.
UNABATED ABORTIONS
Despite laws making pre-natal gender tests illegal, India's 2011 census indicated that efforts to curb female foeticide have been futile.
While India's overall female-to-male ratio marginally improved since the last census in 2001, fewer girls were born than boys and the number of girls under six years old plummeted for the fifth decade running.
A May study in the British medical journal Lancet found that up to 12 million Indian girls were aborted over the last three decades -- resulting in a skewed child sex ratio of 914 girls to every 1,000 boys in 2011 compared with 962 in 1981.
Sons, in traditionally male-dominated regions, are viewed as assets -- breadwinners who will take care of the family, continue the family name, and perform the last rites of the parents, an important ritual in many faiths.
Daughters are seen as a liability, for whom families have to pay substantial wedding dowries. Protecting their chastity is a major concern as instances of pre-marital sex are seen to bring shame and dishonour on families.
Women's rights activists say breaking down these deep-rooted, age-old beliefs is a major challenge.
"The real solution is to empower girls and women in every way possible," says Neelam Singh, head of Vatsalya, an NGO working on children's and women's issues.
"We need to provide them with access to education, healthcare and opportunities which will help them make decisions for themselves and stand up to those who seek to abuse or exploit them."
(TrustLaw is a global news service on women's rights and good governance run by Thomson Reuters Foundation. For more information see www.trust.org/trustlaw)
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
Phul Kumari, 25, stands with her child in front of a window in a village community centre in Baghpat district, located in Uttar Pradesh October 18, 2011. REUTERS/TrustLaw/Nita Bhalla
SOURCE:http://in.news.yahoo.com/wife-sharing-haunts-indian-villages-girls-decline-082705571.html
Monday, 17 October 2011
Punjabi medicos in UK join anti-foeticide campaign (Parvesh Sharma , TNN | Oct 17, 2011, 05.41AM IST)
PATIALA: Medical students of London and doctors of British Medical Council, hailing from Punjab, have joined hands with Dr Harshindar Kaur, deputy medical superintendent of Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, for a campaign against dowry and female foeticide in their country.
About 1,100 people have signed the petition for the campaign, started under the banner of Hail the Girl Child, in London and Brimingham during her visit to England from October 6 to 15, 2011. The petition is in continuation of Dr Kaur's international campaign to stop female foeticide in various countries.
Earlier, the drive received overwhelming support in Canada, USA and Europe. Students and youngsters from various colleges and universities joined the initiative of Dr Kaur and have firmly resolved to stand by her and follow her footsteps in an effort to stop the menace of foeticide and infanticide.
During her visit to UK, she addressed medical students of Guys Hospital and Kings College, London. The doctors of Asian wing of British Medical council also supported Dr Kaur.
At a meeting with officers of department for international development, which is a branch of theUK government dealing with providing aid to developing countries for various projects, Dr Kaur apprised them about the problem of female foeticide, infanticide and domestic violence among Asian communities in England.
"The department has been assured that UK government will take these problems seriously and give full support to me," Dr Kaur told TOI from England.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Punjabi-medicos-in-UK-join-anti-foeticide-campaign/articleshow/10383324.cms
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Baby girl rescued after being buried alive
A farmer was at work in the afternoon on Thursday when he heard a baby crying. He followed the sound to discover a baby girl, who seemed to have been buried alive. She had managed to push her head above the ground. The farmer, who is from Madhya Pradesh's Bodna village, rushed the child to a local hospital. Doctors believe she was 48 hours old before she was rescued.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/video/national-26073656/baby-girl-rescued-after-being-buried-alive-26862020.html
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Man on a mission to curb female foeticide
GURGAON: His father, a village priest, was an ambassador for spreading awareness against female foeticide.
Carrying that legacy forward, Ram Niwas Sharma, a realtor, has now embarked on a mission to reach out to the rural folk and discourage them from killing the unborn girl child.
Sharma, a resident of South City-I, has produced a Haryanvi movie titled Aathwan Vachan (Eighth Pledge), which will be made tax free in the state.
The state revenue minister, Satpal Sangwan, who watched the movie at a multiplex in Gurgaon on Wednesday evening, made this announcement to ensure that the movie is watched by a majority of people in Haryana. He said the government would also make efforts to screen this movie in villages through the information, public relations and cultural affairs department.
"My father used to take an eighth pledge from newly weds during their marriage ceremony that they would not go for pre-natal sex detection and would never commit foeticide. After he passed away, I thought of producing this movie to spread his message," 50-year-old Sharma said. The lyrics in this movie have been penned by his late father.
Sharma said most of the 140-minute movie was shot in a farmhouse in Farrukhnagar and parts of it were shot in Aklimpur village near the main city. "Most of the actors in this movie are from Delhi and Haryana. It is a low-budget film made only to promote awareness against female foeticide," Sharma said.
The director of the movie, Krishan Naharia, said the film is aimed not at earning money but to educate the masses.
The Haryanvi language movie shows how a wicked mother-in-law and her son compel a pregnant woman to get her child aborted after ultrasonography tests reveal that she is carrying a baby girl. The film depicts the ordeal of the woman, who is forced to kill her first child, but manages to escape when she is asked to terminate her pregnancy for the second time. She gives birth to a baby girl, who grows up to become a police inspector and arrests the doctor, who used to carry out abortions in exchange for money.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Man-on-a-mission-to-curb-female-foeticide/articleshow/7782924.cms
Carrying that legacy forward, Ram Niwas Sharma, a realtor, has now embarked on a mission to reach out to the rural folk and discourage them from killing the unborn girl child.
Sharma, a resident of South City-I, has produced a Haryanvi movie titled Aathwan Vachan (Eighth Pledge), which will be made tax free in the state.
The state revenue minister, Satpal Sangwan, who watched the movie at a multiplex in Gurgaon on Wednesday evening, made this announcement to ensure that the movie is watched by a majority of people in Haryana. He said the government would also make efforts to screen this movie in villages through the information, public relations and cultural affairs department.
"My father used to take an eighth pledge from newly weds during their marriage ceremony that they would not go for pre-natal sex detection and would never commit foeticide. After he passed away, I thought of producing this movie to spread his message," 50-year-old Sharma said. The lyrics in this movie have been penned by his late father.
Sharma said most of the 140-minute movie was shot in a farmhouse in Farrukhnagar and parts of it were shot in Aklimpur village near the main city. "Most of the actors in this movie are from Delhi and Haryana. It is a low-budget film made only to promote awareness against female foeticide," Sharma said.
The director of the movie, Krishan Naharia, said the film is aimed not at earning money but to educate the masses.
The Haryanvi language movie shows how a wicked mother-in-law and her son compel a pregnant woman to get her child aborted after ultrasonography tests reveal that she is carrying a baby girl. The film depicts the ordeal of the woman, who is forced to kill her first child, but manages to escape when she is asked to terminate her pregnancy for the second time. She gives birth to a baby girl, who grows up to become a police inspector and arrests the doctor, who used to carry out abortions in exchange for money.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Man-on-a-mission-to-curb-female-foeticide/articleshow/7782924.cms
Monday, 26 September 2011
Punjabi students in Canada launch campaign against dowry, foeticide(Amarinder Singh, TNN | Sep 26, 2011, 05.50AM IST)
PATIALA: As many as 250 students of Punjabi origin in Surrey in Canada have vowed against dowry and female foeticide and have launched a signature campaign to secure the support of their parents and other relatives.
This followed a meeting of these students ofKwantlen Polytechnic University with Patiala-based women rights activist, Dr Harshinder Kaur. During her visit to Vancouver this week, Kaur had conducted meetings with young students of the university and motivated them to launch a campaign against female foeticide and dowry in their areas.
"Female foeticide and dowry are not confined to our country these days. Punjabis settled abroad are also facing the same problem as we in Punjab. They migrated to foreign shores, but there are many who still have not changed their minds and prefer only male child," said Kaur.
Kaur said that youths in Canada were under pressure from their parents. Many young students alleged that if they don't follow the directions of their Punjabi parents, they may disown them.
Also, some girls alleged their parents have been pressuring them to marry only in Punjab so that they could save dowry money, said Kaur. "In Punjabi community, in some parts of Brampton and Toronto, the sex ratio has come to down to 876 as they don't want girls," said Kaur.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Punjabi-students-in-Canada-launch-campaign-against-dowry-feticide/articleshow/10121698.cms
Pic source:http://www.topnews.in/law/bhopal-students-launch-girl-child-campaign-247755
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
5 Must-Knows About the Save the Girl Child Campaign
Image courtesy: © Thinkstockphotos/ Getty images
iDiva is celebrating September as Save the Girl Child month because we believe that our country still has some serious problems when it comes to sex selection and gender discrimination. Check out these statistics if you don't believe us. As citizens, it becomes our responsibility to do what we can to create awareness and put an end to female foeticide/ infanticide (even if it just means reporting such a crime). That's why we at iDiva bring you all you need to know about the government's initiative and how you can be a part of it.
1) Know that sex selection is illegal by Indian law. The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act) 1994 prohibits sex selection, before or after conception. Its purpose is to prevent misuse of technologies, such as ultrasound, in situations where information on sex of the foetus is found out for the specific purpose of eliminating girls. It is illegal to test the sex of the foetus for non-medical reasons. The law provides for imprisonment, which may be extended to 3 years and fine up to Rs.10,000 for the first conviction. So if you know of doctors/ hospitals that engage in such practices, you can report them (anonymously, if you want to).
2) In 2009, the government declared January 24 as National Girl Child Day. Thereafter, the Women and Child Development Ministry launched a sustained campaign to create awareness about female foeticide, domestic violence and malnutrition in women and children.
Contest: Take part in iDiva's Girls Have All the Fun Contest and WIN a Vineyard Tour for Two worth Rs.28000!
3) The state of Maharashtra has its own website to promote the Save the Girl Child cause called Amchi Mulgi. They also have a toll free number (1800-233-4475) you can call to report sex selection.
4) The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is also set to launch their 'beti bachao' campaign. They have appealed to their partymen, who don't have a girl child, to adopt one and to all party cadre to print an appeal on all wedding invitation cards against the practice of prenatal sex-determination. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP president in that state Prabhat Jha are planning to adopt girls too!
5) Project Sukanya, an initiative of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to save the girl child was launched last month. The Pre Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC-PNDT) cell has been set up at IMA and a proposal has been submitted to the PMC for devising a software to check sex determination.
We all know that being a girl is super special. Sadly, not everyone seems to think so. That's why iDiva is celebrating September as "Save the Girl Child" month. Join us as we raise awareness about this cause, highlight initiatives that promote girl children and explore what we can do to make a difference. There's also loads of fun in store 'coz we're celebrating just how special we girls really are!
1) Know that sex selection is illegal by Indian law. The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act) 1994 prohibits sex selection, before or after conception. Its purpose is to prevent misuse of technologies, such as ultrasound, in situations where information on sex of the foetus is found out for the specific purpose of eliminating girls. It is illegal to test the sex of the foetus for non-medical reasons. The law provides for imprisonment, which may be extended to 3 years and fine up to Rs.10,000 for the first conviction. So if you know of doctors/ hospitals that engage in such practices, you can report them (anonymously, if you want to).
2) In 2009, the government declared January 24 as National Girl Child Day. Thereafter, the Women and Child Development Ministry launched a sustained campaign to create awareness about female foeticide, domestic violence and malnutrition in women and children.
Contest: Take part in iDiva's Girls Have All the Fun Contest and WIN a Vineyard Tour for Two worth Rs.28000!
3) The state of Maharashtra has its own website to promote the Save the Girl Child cause called Amchi Mulgi. They also have a toll free number (1800-233-4475) you can call to report sex selection.
4) The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is also set to launch their 'beti bachao' campaign. They have appealed to their partymen, who don't have a girl child, to adopt one and to all party cadre to print an appeal on all wedding invitation cards against the practice of prenatal sex-determination. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP president in that state Prabhat Jha are planning to adopt girls too!
5) Project Sukanya, an initiative of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to save the girl child was launched last month. The Pre Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC-PNDT) cell has been set up at IMA and a proposal has been submitted to the PMC for devising a software to check sex determination.
We all know that being a girl is super special. Sadly, not everyone seems to think so. That's why iDiva is celebrating September as "Save the Girl Child" month. Join us as we raise awareness about this cause, highlight initiatives that promote girl children and explore what we can do to make a difference. There's also loads of fun in store 'coz we're celebrating just how special we girls really are!
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
5L people vow against female foeticide(Sep 7, 2011, 05.31AM IST)
KARNAL: To check the state's dwindling sex ratio, Karnal district has come up with an innovative idea of organizing pledge ceremonies on the 6th of every month for saving the girl child.
On the first day of the initiative on Tuesday, more than 5 lakh people from different walks of life participated in the ceremonies held across the district and took an oath to protect the girl child in family and in neighborhood. In secretariat, the oath was administrated by deputy commissioner Neelam Kasni, who urged participants not to have any bias against the girl child.
The DC had recently appealed for active participation in the ceremony, which saw an overwhelming response. Perhaps, for the first time in the country, people from all hues, including government employees, teachers, students, doctors, lawyers, law officers, farmers, businessmen and representatives of different religious organizations, among others, participated in such an endeavour.
The DC said stringent laws alone could not check female foeticide without society's participation.
"Though some villages are showing an improvement, the district has a sex ratio of 813, which needs to be rectified. The district public relation and information office has been told to rope in 'bhajan mandalis' to spread the message through street plays," the DC added.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5L-people-vow-against-female-foeticide/articleshow/9891506.cms
On the first day of the initiative on Tuesday, more than 5 lakh people from different walks of life participated in the ceremonies held across the district and took an oath to protect the girl child in family and in neighborhood. In secretariat, the oath was administrated by deputy commissioner Neelam Kasni, who urged participants not to have any bias against the girl child.
The DC had recently appealed for active participation in the ceremony, which saw an overwhelming response. Perhaps, for the first time in the country, people from all hues, including government employees, teachers, students, doctors, lawyers, law officers, farmers, businessmen and representatives of different religious organizations, among others, participated in such an endeavour.
The DC said stringent laws alone could not check female foeticide without society's participation.
"Though some villages are showing an improvement, the district has a sex ratio of 813, which needs to be rectified. The district public relation and information office has been told to rope in 'bhajan mandalis' to spread the message through street plays," the DC added.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5L-people-vow-against-female-foeticide/articleshow/9891506.cms
Helpline gets 42 complaints about sex-determination tests (Sep 7, 2011, 05.55AM IST)
PUNE: The helpline started to help prevent female foeticide has received 42 complaints and tip offs about illegal sex-determination tests and sex selective abortion being carried out by doctors in Maharashtra.
Inaugurated by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on July 12, the helpline (toll free number 18002334475) aims at encouraging people to come forward and register complaints either on their name or anonymously.
"We received 42 complaints from 16 districts since July 12. But 11 of them have not been attended to by the appropriate authorities. We have sent them reminders about submitting their report within the stipulated time frame. We are awaiting their response," said a state health official.
Beed, which has registered lowest child sex ratio in the state, tops the list with 10 complaints. "Of them, five have been attended to by the authority and reports have been submitted. There is no communication about the remaining complaints," the official said. After Beed, Jalgaon follows with six complaints. Among them one complaint remained unattended by the concerned officials.
The helpline received one complaint each from Mumbai, Nashik, Sangli, Thane, Latur, Hingoli, Osmanabad and Buldhana.
The officials received two complaints about illegal use of sonography machines by doctors practising in Pune. One caller registered a complaint on July 12, saying that sonography centres in Wakad, Aundh and Baner have not been inspected by the PMC's appropriate authority. The other complaint said that a person working at a government hospital in Mukundnagar was involved in private practice.
"Both the complaints were immediately forward to the PMC's appropriate authority. The officials attended to both complaints and submitted their report," officials of the helpline said.
The helpline received one complaint from Pimpri-Chinchwad saying that medical representatives were hand in glove with doctors in Pimpri Chinchwad while conducting sex determination tests.
"The PCMC officials also attended to the complaints and submitted the report," officials said.
The number of unattended complaints are: Pune rural 1, Jalgaon 1, Satara 2, Nanded 1, Beed 5, and Latur 1.
"We don't disclose the identity of the informer. We request people to come forward and inform us about such illegal activities and contribute towards betterment of the society," said officials of the helpline located at the family welfare bureau near RTO office, Sangam bridge.
eom/umesh
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Helpline-gets-42-complaints-about-sex-determination-tests/articleshow/9891686.cms
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Violence towards women cause for increase in female foeticide, says study 'TNN | Sep 3, 2011, 02.39AM IST'
NEW DELHI: The increasing violence towards women in public spaces has contributed to an increase in female foeticide as many would-be parents fear security of a girl child, says a recently concluded study in Haryana by the Centre for Social Research.
"We spoke to many affluent young couples who said that it would be much easier for them to leave a boy alone at home as compared to a girl," said Dr Ranjana Kumari from CSR, who was on the research team of the study. "In villages, too, they believe that though dowry is a one-time payment, the burden of 'maintaining chastity' is immense," said Kumari.
The study took place in Kurukshetra and Ambala, districts where sex ratio is below 800 girls per 1000 boys, from May 2009 till April this year, following a similar study in Delhi. During the course of the study, it was found that apart from violence in public spaces, a woman who had only daughters was also more likely to be the target of domestic violence.
The all-India gender ratio has been consistently declining since 1961 when it was 976-1000 to the current all-time low of only 914-1000, probably because female foeticide is no longer an urban issue. "With portable ultrasound machines, even a villager can determine the sex of an unborn child," said Dr Manasi Mishra, also on the research team. Although the machines need to be registered with the local chief medical officer, they found that many were in operation regardless.
Calling the issue a "civilization crisis", Kumari cited improper governance and lack of monitoring of the law as major concerns. "Even if we file a case, the court rejects it saying we are not a notified agency. State governments are negligent; the budget allocated is little; political parties, too, are not cooperative," she said. Members of parliament of Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan had all been allocated Rs five lakh each for spreading awareness on the issue, "but nobody knows where the money has gone," said Mishra.
The entire industry thrives on clandestine practices, illegal yet ignored. The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, enacted in 1994, outlaws sex determining ultrasound scans, and first-time offenders can face imprisonment of three years, as well as a fine of Rs 10,000. Yet, the law is neither followed nor enforced. According to a 2007 handbook released by the ministry of health and family welfare, only 384 cases had been registered under the Act in India.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Violence-towards-women-cause-for-increase-in-female-foeticide-says-study/articleshow/9842051.cms
Monday, 29 August 2011
Ajay, Kajol lend support to girl child campaign
MUMBAI: The state government's " save the girl child campaign" received a shot in the arm with Bollywood couple Ajay Devgn and Kajol agreeing to be brand ambassadors for the drive. What's more, the stars have offered to produce a short film to create awareness on the issue. Public health minister Suresh Shetty confirmed this.
TOI was first to report about the state government's plan to rope in Ajay and Kajol for its campaign against female foeticide. Last month, the state health department approached the actors and sought their help in arresting the sharp decline in the population of the girl child in Maharashtra. The child sex ratio figures of 1991 Census show 946 girls per 1,000 boys. In 2011, this dropped to 833 girls per 1,000 boys.
Describing female foeticide as the "most inhuman, uncivilised and reprehensible" practice, Shetty said, "Participation of prominent actors will boost our efforts and yield better results."
The state government has already enlisted prominent Marathi actors Sachin Pilgaonkar and his wife Supriya as brand ambassadors for the campaign. NCP chief Sharad Pawar's daughter and MP Supriya Sule held a padyatra from August 25 to 28 to spread awareness on the issue. MLC Vinod Tawde of the BJP also participated in the rally.
TOI was first to report about the state government's plan to rope in Ajay and Kajol for its campaign against female foeticide. Last month, the state health department approached the actors and sought their help in arresting the sharp decline in the population of the girl child in Maharashtra. The child sex ratio figures of 1991 Census show 946 girls per 1,000 boys. In 2011, this dropped to 833 girls per 1,000 boys.
Describing female foeticide as the "most inhuman, uncivilised and reprehensible" practice, Shetty said, "Participation of prominent actors will boost our efforts and yield better results."
The state government has already enlisted prominent Marathi actors Sachin Pilgaonkar and his wife Supriya as brand ambassadors for the campaign. NCP chief Sharad Pawar's daughter and MP Supriya Sule held a padyatra from August 25 to 28 to spread awareness on the issue. MLC Vinod Tawde of the BJP also participated in the rally.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Very painful incident..!
A few days ago, i had a very painful experience and that i want to share with you all... i just came back from my school and when i entered home my mom was very happy and she told me that our neighbours ( near to my home) are blessed with a cute litle princess.. i was so happy and after having my lunch i thought that i should go to congratulate them.. on my way to their home i met with some aunties . they all were standing in a group and were discussing something.. then only one of them called me and just started inquiring about my mom as she was not fine.. i told them about mom and then one of the aunty started discussing about that baby girl and she was so rude .. she was saying ' ki aa munda huna chahida c ah kuri kidro agyi aa pehlan v tan ik c hun ik hor agyi aa una bachareya da ki haal hunda hau us kuri nu dekh k' and all aunties were agree with that aunty.. i was just shocked that what all they are saying.. i tried to talk to them that why this difference? whats the problem with girl child but no one listened to me but still somehow i managed to talk to them and made them realize that girls are as important as boys but they all started saying 'assi kehra kehnde kuriya ni chahidiya par munde jyada jaruri hunde aa ik tan huna e chahida aa..' ... i don't know how to make them understand but i will never loose my confident i will try and try and will make them understand about girl child's importance........indirectly they were pointing towards me also as i am also a girl and i am having one sister. (Although i am having two brothers my cousins and they are more than real brothers to me... i love them a lot but people don't understand that) . i was completely broken .. i came back home and i was very upset. i told my mom and i asked her that is that ever happened with her when i was born? she said yes but she was happy and she told me she is very happy having daughters and she don't care about what people say... i am lucky that i am having parents who don't feel any difference between girl and boy .. but i am really worried about that girls who are suffering from this difference and even that whose parents killed them before their birth...HAVE YOU EVER FACED SUCH SITUATION????
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Real Hero Prakash Kaur mothers 60 abandoned girls
Jalandhar: In a state infamous for female foeticide, Prakash Kaur is mother to 60 abandoned girls in Jalandhar. She has given them a life to look forward to, when their own parents wished they were dead.
No one knows when they were born. But for Sheeba, for little Zeinab and their 60 sisters, April 24 is special as it is their birthday.
Prakash doesn't like to look back. Sixty years ago she too was abandoned by her parents and a local Gurudwara was what she called home. The stories of her little ones mirror her life. Siya was only a few hours old when she was found in a drain, wrapped in a black polythene bag. Reva a newborn was dumped on a highway off Kapurthala and it is their future that Prakash is determined to change.
1993 was the turning point in the lives of these girls. That was when Prakash set up the Unique Home for girls on land donated by the Gurudwara where she grew up. Surprisingly, works of Charles Dickens inspire the feisty lady from Jalandhar.
Little Zeinab was found in a garbage dump, packed in a polythene bag only because she is mentally challenged. But today she is the darling of the home bringing colour into everyone's life. This hole in the wall becomes the cradle of life for many like Zeinab.
But all the girls who come here make it through just fine. Every morning the home comes alive. After a quick breakfast, Prakash and the senior girls help the the little ones get ready for school and as they step out, there is a sweet beginning for the day at some of the best schools in Jalandhar.
A brilliant student, 15-year-old Sheeba wants to become a neurosurgeon. Recognising her potential, Prakash sent her to a boarding school in Mussoriee.
"I think my parents left me for my own benefit because if my parents wouldn't have left me," Sheeba said.
"I am really proud of my mom, because I think that there is nobody like her in the world, she is God, she is a friend, she is everything to us," Sheeba added.
Prakash lives for the girls. Stepping out in tattered clothes she picks out fruits for her daughters. Giving them the best in life is the only thing that is on her mind and Prakash knows there's no shame in asking people for help.
The prayer on the lips of the girls is simple, 'Thank you god for my Mamma… one who is ready to die so I can live'.
(Follow IBNLive.com on Facebook and on Twitter for updates that you can share with your friends.)
#Real Heroes #female foeticide #crime against women #Prakash Kaur #Jalandhar
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/real-hero-prakash-kaur-mothers-60-abandoned-girls/171911-3.html
No one knows when they were born. But for Sheeba, for little Zeinab and their 60 sisters, April 24 is special as it is their birthday.
Prakash doesn't like to look back. Sixty years ago she too was abandoned by her parents and a local Gurudwara was what she called home. The stories of her little ones mirror her life. Siya was only a few hours old when she was found in a drain, wrapped in a black polythene bag. Reva a newborn was dumped on a highway off Kapurthala and it is their future that Prakash is determined to change.
1993 was the turning point in the lives of these girls. That was when Prakash set up the Unique Home for girls on land donated by the Gurudwara where she grew up. Surprisingly, works of Charles Dickens inspire the feisty lady from Jalandhar.
Little Zeinab was found in a garbage dump, packed in a polythene bag only because she is mentally challenged. But today she is the darling of the home bringing colour into everyone's life. This hole in the wall becomes the cradle of life for many like Zeinab.
But all the girls who come here make it through just fine. Every morning the home comes alive. After a quick breakfast, Prakash and the senior girls help the the little ones get ready for school and as they step out, there is a sweet beginning for the day at some of the best schools in Jalandhar.
A brilliant student, 15-year-old Sheeba wants to become a neurosurgeon. Recognising her potential, Prakash sent her to a boarding school in Mussoriee.
"I think my parents left me for my own benefit because if my parents wouldn't have left me," Sheeba said.
"I am really proud of my mom, because I think that there is nobody like her in the world, she is God, she is a friend, she is everything to us," Sheeba added.
Prakash lives for the girls. Stepping out in tattered clothes she picks out fruits for her daughters. Giving them the best in life is the only thing that is on her mind and Prakash knows there's no shame in asking people for help.
The prayer on the lips of the girls is simple, 'Thank you god for my Mamma… one who is ready to die so I can live'.
(Follow IBNLive.com on Facebook and on Twitter for updates that you can share with your friends.)
#Real Heroes #female foeticide #crime against women #Prakash Kaur #Jalandhar
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/real-hero-prakash-kaur-mothers-60-abandoned-girls/171911-3.html
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Declining male-female ratio is a worry: Minister (TNN | Aug 7, 2011, 11.15PM IST)
AMRAVATI: "The male female ratio in the state is on a declining mode and it is a matter of concern. Before it assumes catastrophic proportion, the slide has to be arrested. To achieve this public awareness about female foeticide has to be created," said state woman and child welfare minister Varsha Gaekwad.
She was addressing a programme organized to inaugurate Indira Gandhi Matrutva Sahayog Yojana in Amravati and seminar organized by Bharatiya Utkarsha Manch.
"In today's world, women have made good strides in all spheres of social strata, but the decline in the number of girls is a worrying factor," she said, adding, "The state government is taking all steps to bridge the gap."
She said that under Indira Gandhi Matrutva Sahayog Yojana a pregnant woman would get aid of Rs 4,000 for medicines and nutritious food. Around 24,000 women would get benefit of the scheme in Amravati, she said. The yojana will be implemented in Amravati city.
With a view to provide nutritious food to adolescent girls, state government will be implementing Sabla scheme in 11 districts of Maharashtra including Amravati. Gaekwad informed that 16 lakh adolescent girls will get benefit of the Sabla scheme. Of these nearly 1.29 lakh beneficiaries are from Amravati.
The minister said that along with nutritious food, the girls will get vocational training and professional skills through this scheme.
source : declining male female ratio
She was addressing a programme organized to inaugurate Indira Gandhi Matrutva Sahayog Yojana in Amravati and seminar organized by Bharatiya Utkarsha Manch.
"In today's world, women have made good strides in all spheres of social strata, but the decline in the number of girls is a worrying factor," she said, adding, "The state government is taking all steps to bridge the gap."
She said that under Indira Gandhi Matrutva Sahayog Yojana a pregnant woman would get aid of Rs 4,000 for medicines and nutritious food. Around 24,000 women would get benefit of the scheme in Amravati, she said. The yojana will be implemented in Amravati city.
With a view to provide nutritious food to adolescent girls, state government will be implementing Sabla scheme in 11 districts of Maharashtra including Amravati. Gaekwad informed that 16 lakh adolescent girls will get benefit of the Sabla scheme. Of these nearly 1.29 lakh beneficiaries are from Amravati.
The minister said that along with nutritious food, the girls will get vocational training and professional skills through this scheme.
source : declining male female ratio
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Female foeticide: Notices to Haryana, Punjab, UT(TNN | Jul 13, 2011, 06.41am IST)
CHANDIGARH: Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to take appropriate steps to stop female foeticide, including registration of ultrasound machines meant for veterinary purposes in Punjab, Haryana and UT, Chandigarh, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday issued notices to both the states and the Chandigarh administration asking them to respond to the issues raised in the petition.
The notices were issued by a division bench headed by acting Chief Justice A K Goel while hearing thePIL filed by Girish Memorial Charitable Trust, through its general secretary Munish Nayyer.
The petitioner also sought directions to the governments concerned and the UT administration for strict maintenance of records of ultrasound machines, conducting inspections every three months as per rules and taking regular and consistent action against violators as per law considering the seriousness of the issue in view of the provisional census of 2011 indicating further decline in child sex ratio which has already reached an alarmingly low figure in many villages, towns and cities of the region.
Arguing before the bench, counsel for the petitioner, Ashwinie Bansal, informed the court that none of the scanning or imaging equipments capable of sex detection that are currently being used for veterinary purposes in various dairy and stud farms, veterinary polyclinics and veterinary hospitals are registered, except the one at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and another at the Macro Dairy Ventures in Ludhiana in Punjab. He further argued that such ultrasound machines meant for veterinary purposes could also be used for human sex detection.
"At present, these scanning and imaging machines are not required to be compulsorily registered and no record whatsoever, of their use or misuse is being maintained in any form. It is important to note here that these machines and equipments are very much capable of carrying sex detection tests in humans also. Thus it is of utmost importance to keep track of such machines used in the veterinary sector as well," Bansal argued further.
It was also contended in the petition that complete records of pregnancies in the region are not being maintained and records maintained under Rule 9 of the PNDT Act are not being inspected in accordance with rules. Many times doctors, officers and officials who take appropriate action under PNDT Act are punished/discriminated against or threatened, it was stated.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Female-foeticide-Notices-to-Haryana-Punjab-UT/articleshow/9206082.cms
The notices were issued by a division bench headed by acting Chief Justice A K Goel while hearing thePIL filed by Girish Memorial Charitable Trust, through its general secretary Munish Nayyer.
The petitioner also sought directions to the governments concerned and the UT administration for strict maintenance of records of ultrasound machines, conducting inspections every three months as per rules and taking regular and consistent action against violators as per law considering the seriousness of the issue in view of the provisional census of 2011 indicating further decline in child sex ratio which has already reached an alarmingly low figure in many villages, towns and cities of the region.
Arguing before the bench, counsel for the petitioner, Ashwinie Bansal, informed the court that none of the scanning or imaging equipments capable of sex detection that are currently being used for veterinary purposes in various dairy and stud farms, veterinary polyclinics and veterinary hospitals are registered, except the one at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and another at the Macro Dairy Ventures in Ludhiana in Punjab. He further argued that such ultrasound machines meant for veterinary purposes could also be used for human sex detection.
"At present, these scanning and imaging machines are not required to be compulsorily registered and no record whatsoever, of their use or misuse is being maintained in any form. It is important to note here that these machines and equipments are very much capable of carrying sex detection tests in humans also. Thus it is of utmost importance to keep track of such machines used in the veterinary sector as well," Bansal argued further.
It was also contended in the petition that complete records of pregnancies in the region are not being maintained and records maintained under Rule 9 of the PNDT Act are not being inspected in accordance with rules. Many times doctors, officers and officials who take appropriate action under PNDT Act are punished/discriminated against or threatened, it was stated.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Female-foeticide-Notices-to-Haryana-Punjab-UT/articleshow/9206082.cms
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
The sex-selection killing fields
The sex ratio of children aged 0 and 6 in India has fallen further in the last decade to 914 girls per 1,000 boys. Why are government and civil society campaigns making so little difference?
For well over two decades, the ‘development’ sector in India has worked tirelessly in villages, mofussil towns and slum settlements running campaigns on the girl-child.
In schools each year children do assignments and projects on ‘female foeticide’ and ‘female infanticide’, invariably focusing on practices in ‘villages’ where people are ‘uneducated’. The problem has persistently been traced to a lack of education and that wonderful word on which all social evils can be blamed -- poverty.
Governments have put in place incentives for educating girl-children, subsidising their food, awarding a rupee a day for each girl-child who attends school regularly. Most importantly, in 1996, the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act made it illegal to use ultrasound technology to identify the sex of the foetus. Since then, at least by law, doctors are banned from revealing the sex of a foetus to expecting parents.
In 1991, the number of females per 1,000 males in India was 927. In 2001, the number rose marginally to 933. The 2011 census put this figure at 940.
However, a closer look at the census reveals that the steady rise in sex ratio is somewhat misleading, masking several practices that violate both the law and the rights of female children. The sex ratio in children aged 6 and younger is only 915 girls to every 1000 boys (2011 census); the expected ratio would be 950 and 975 girls per 1,000 boys.
Absolute numbers of children between 0-6 years of age
| Number of children aged 0-6 in India | 158,789,287 |
| Number of boys aged 0-6 in India | 82,952,135 |
| Number of girls aged 0-6 in India | 75,837,152 |
There are 71,14,983 less girls aged 0-6 in the country as compared to boys in the same age-group.
Sex ratio of children between 0-6 years of age
| Decade | Sex ratio |
| 1991-2001 | 927 |
| 2001-2011 | 914 |
Thus, the sex ratio of children between the ages of 0 and 6 in the country has fallen in the last decade by 13 points. Interestingly, in 1961, the ratio was 976 girls for every 1,000 boys in this age-group. This means that over the last 50 years, the sex ratio has fallen by 63 points.
Number of sex-selective abortions
If we accept the calculations in the Lancet study (Lancet 2011 May 24 [doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736 (11) 60649-1]), there were fewer than 2 million sex-selective abortions of girls in the 1980s. In the 1990s, this figure can be calculated to be as high as 4.1 million. And in the decade ending 2010, the number of sex-selective abortions is possibly 6 million!
Number of sex-selective abortions of second-born girls
Where the first-born is a girl, the incidence of sex-selective abortions for the second conceived child is high.
In 1990, the number of girls born second in the ordinal sequence was 906 for every 1,000 boys; in 2005, this figure dropped to 836. This amounts to an annual decline of 0.52%.
Sex-selective abortions in Maharashtra
The district of south Mumbai, arguably the wealthiest district in Maharashtra, has the lowest sex ratio in the entire state -- 838 females for every 1,000 males.
Population First Director Dr A L Sharada points out, however, that south Mumbai has always had poor sex ratio figures compared to the state and national figures. According to her, the more disturbing trend is in Beed, which now has the lowest sex ratio in the state. “Earlier we knew that the higher income areas practised sex-selective abortion. Now it is very worrying because across the spectrum the sex ratio is going down in this state -- even in tribal areas where we used to say there is more gender parity.”
The sex ratio for children 0-6 years of age in Maharashtra is 883/1,000. In 2001, this figure was 913. Over the last decade therefore there has been a drop of 30 girls per 1,000 boys.
Modernity, development and the gender discourse
Several stories one comes across in everyday life reinforce these statistics.
- One activist tells the story of a lawyer in Punjab who has two daughters. However, after her second daughter was born she began to be increasingly reprimanded by family and friends. “Of what use is all your education and intelligence? You don’t even know how to plan your family properly, and now you are stuck with two daughters.”
- Sufiya (name changed) has a daughter. She is principal of a school and is very popular with her students. During a discussion on gender discrimination, she took a strong stand against sex-selective abortions. “I won’t ever do that. Even I want a son, but I’ll just have children till God gifts me a boy. I won’t kill my baby just because she is a girl.”
- Kamal runs a beauty parlour. She is educated, market savvy and reasonably well-off. Her first two children are girls, much loved by the in-laws and the extended family. Yet, when she conceived for the third time, the family took a joint decision to check the sex of the foetus and have it aborted if it was female. It was. And they did. The mother-in-law said: “As it is Kamal works so hard and she has only just had the second one a year ago. She needs time to recover properly.”
However, two months later when she conceived again and the foetus was discovered to be male, she carried the child through the nine months and is now the mother of a baby boy.
- “You know, there’s no problem with girls. They’re so loving and do so much for their parents. But when Suresh (name changed) has worked so hard to build this business he obviously wants to hand it over to his child and make sure that it continues in our family name. At the end of the day, whatever we say, girls do marry and develop other priorities. Then what will happen to decades of this work?!”
- Nazma (a 28-year-old software engineer who lives in suburban Mumbai) says: “I just don’t want a girl. Look at how much we have to go through as women. It’s getting harder and harder! I know what I’ve had to listen to and do to meet expectations. I am not bringing another girl into the world so that she has to go through it all, and I have to watch it on top of that!”
Each of the above stories shows the several ways in which the discourses of ‘modernity’ and ‘development’ are used to subvert the purported objectives of the discourse. Arguments regarding the health and wellbeing of the mother, the ethic of hard work and focus, and moral arguments on abortion all get co-opted into the larger patriarchal framework.
Nilangi Sardeshpande, Director, SATHI (Pune), says that, strangely, the legislation banning the use of technology for sex disclosures of foetuses has backfired. While the ban effectively puts sex-selection out of bounds for poor families, it has unwittingly made it a privilege of the rich. With doctors aware that disclosure of the sex of the foetus is illegal, the cost of such disclosure has gone up. This means that poor families cannot access the technology. However for those with means it is something they suddenly become ‘enabled’ to do by virtue of their ability to pay for the service.
She also points out that there is yet another campaign that has contributed in some measure to the selective abortion of female foetuses -- the two-child norm. She argues that it is well taken by the educated elite in the country. But contextualised in a strongly patriarchal framework, it puts on women the pressure to ensure that they do have a male child to ensure continuation of the family name. As a result, if the first-born is a girl the woman is faced with an ethical dilemma and chooses sex-selection before the ‘foetus’ becomes a ‘child’ and the dilemma is further compounded.
Dr Sharada of Population First has a similar view. She contends, in fact, that even families that choose to have one child opt for sex-selection because they aspire to a better life, passing on business or family wealth, etc. With a daughter they feel hamstrung because they have to save for her dowry and her wedding. Even now, and especially among the wealthy, she says daughters are not seen as good returns on investment.
It also seems as if the primary concern of most wealthy families is to ensure that assets remain ‘within the family’. Since family continues to be defined in terms of male lineage, leaving all one’s assets to a daughter implies that wealth will be taken away from the ‘family’.
Interestingly, when one speaks to parents in upper middle class families, a clear distinction is made between ancestral property and wealth. So, parents are clear that both their daughters and their sons will get an equal share in the wealth of the family. However, ancestral land, family businesses, and ancestral jewellery invariably are handed from father to son.
Addressing the issue
It is clear that the easy correlation between income, illiteracy and sex-selective abortions was camouflaging a deeper patriarchal worldview that cuts across class, region and caste. The campaign for the girl-child is now far more complicated -- the target audience has expanded, variability in its profile increased, and the languages it speaks have multiplied. Most disconcertingly, the discourses of rights and modernity are twisted to fit into the patriarchal framework and therefore become counterproductive.
The approaches of both government and civil society will thus need to focus both on the symptoms and the structure that is nurturing them.
Ensure effective implementation of the law: Dr Sharada believes this is the first and most important step that needs to be taken. Her experience in clinics across Maharashtra shows that several ultrasound machines are not registered. In clinics with multiple machines (some of which are sealed), the numbers on registration certificates do not match the numbers on the machines. It is this kind of sloppy implementation of the law that allows medical practitioners to continue their malpractice.
Stringent punishments for doctors who disclose the sex of a foetus: Current punishment under the legislation is sealing the machine and a fine of a few thousand rupees. However, there is a need to ensure that every case that comes up is filed in court and that the punishment includes a fine as well as a conviction. If this occurs, the licence of the doctor will be revoked and together with other aspects of the punishment will serve as a deterrent to others.
Control over MNCs that sell machines to doctors: There is an urgent requirement to monitor the way ultrasound machines are sold. The company must be made accountable for whom they sell the machines to and how many are being purchased. Dr Sharada recommends that these records be maintained in the public domain.
Promoting two-girl families: Dr Sardeshpande sees this as one of the immediate ways in which the issue of second-child sex-selection can be addressed. She recommends that the government fund the education (including higher education) and other expenses of children in families where both children are girls.
Locating gender as a human rights issue: In the current framework, prospective parents are told: “Ladkiyaan bhi…” (“Girls too can…”) There is, therefore, an attempt to cast girls as more loving, kinder, more capable, a safer investment, etc. This instrumentality to the campaign on promoting girl-children needs to be avoided because it creates unnecessary pressure on women and girls to cater to an increasingly impossible model of girlhood/womanhood. The argument could instead be located in the principle of fairness and justice -- two values that the middle class is increasingly standing up for in the country.
Civil society action: Gender activists argue that the very foundation on which we understand gender is flawed. Dr Sharada asserts the need for all civil society interventions to be based on gender equity. The fact that gender inequality structures and frames all aspects of life is something that must be recognised, accepted and worked on consciously by all social activists, no matter what their core area of focus is.
Monitoring mechanisms: Regular and systematic monitoring of doctors and activities in clinics must be undertaken. Reports must be shared in the public domain. There is no excuse for aborting a foetus because it is female.
The argument that a family is incomplete without both a son and a daughter is specious. The claim that only sons continue the family name is arguable, at best. The point of view that women have too hard a life to be born holds no water.
Girls have the right to be born.
(Havovi Wadia is a development professional with experience in the field of child rights and human rights. She is currently a PhD student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences)
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Rs 1L reward for info on sex determination tests(TNN | Jul 2, 2011, 01.15am IST)
NAGPUR: In a novel proactive step towards curbing the menace of female foeticide, the Indian Medical Association's DASS Committee (Doctor against Sex Selection Committee) has announced a Rs 1 lakh reward to anyone who helps in nabbing doctors indulging in sex determination tests. It was announced to mark Doctor's Day on Friday. The award will be given away under the IMA's Save the Girl Child Project.
IMA president Dr Pradeep Rajderkar said that sufficient proof will have to provided by the complainant so that the culprits can be booked under the PCPNDT Act. The IMA is ready to keep the name of the complainant a secret too.
The DASS members decided on giving away the money after taking cognisance of the reports of declining child sex ratio in the recent census. Until now, the IMA leaders were mainly focusing on sensitizing the doctors about the important role of girls in the society. The project was launched with a theme 'Female Child is Nation's Pride' in 2003.
The IMA has requested the state government, Centre, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation ( NMC) and other self governing government bodies, NGOs, other medical associations to join the movement with similar awards, which will help root out the menace of sex determination, one of the main causes for falling child sex ratio in the state.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/-Rs-1L-reward-for-info-on-sex-determination-tests/articleshow/9070247.cms
IMA president Dr Pradeep Rajderkar said that sufficient proof will have to provided by the complainant so that the culprits can be booked under the PCPNDT Act. The IMA is ready to keep the name of the complainant a secret too.
The DASS members decided on giving away the money after taking cognisance of the reports of declining child sex ratio in the recent census. Until now, the IMA leaders were mainly focusing on sensitizing the doctors about the important role of girls in the society. The project was launched with a theme 'Female Child is Nation's Pride' in 2003.
The IMA has requested the state government, Centre, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation ( NMC) and other self governing government bodies, NGOs, other medical associations to join the movement with similar awards, which will help root out the menace of sex determination, one of the main causes for falling child sex ratio in the state.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/-Rs-1L-reward-for-info-on-sex-determination-tests/articleshow/9070247.cms
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