International Day of the Girl Child

Yesterday, September 24th was celeberated as the International Day of the Girl Child without much fanfare..

Unlike other “International days”, there is nothing much in this day for creating any fanfare.

No cards nor gifts to gift anyone and hence none to sell them.

Many of those girl children who survived in this world still live a life with not much recognition.

But then there are many who never saw the light only because she was meant to be born as a girl.

We let a caring sister, wife, mother, grandmother die a premature death.


The world saw in 2005 through the eyes of Dr. Hoa Phuong Tran(one among many) the below:

A study in India of seven hundred pregnant women undergoing a genetic amniocentesis test revealed that less than one in twenty of the women who were informed they were carrying a daughter actually continued with thepregnancy3. Female foeticide is a direct result of deep-rooted discriminatory attitudes and women’s perceived low worth. When I first went to India some years ago, I was shocked to discover that even though the Government had banned the payment of dowry, in poor areas, the practice still dominates the life and the mindset of virtually all poor families. Hence the belief that girls are a burden of little worth.

An excerpt from Gender - The view from below*
Prepared by
Dr. Hoa Phuong Tran

And we continue to see it not only among the poor but also among the affluent and from one city to another it is spreading like cancer.

Report says girl child not wanted in Bangalore

IANS
24 Sep 2008 02:51:00 PM IST

BANGALORE: As the world observed International Day of the Girl Child Wednesday, India's IT hub presented a poor picture of itself with a Karnataka government report indicating declining child sex ratio.


The ratio in Karnataka has fallen drastically from 960 to 946 between 1991 and 2001, when the last census was conducted.

The ratio stood at 954 in rural areas and 939 in urban areas. Bangalore has a ratio of 941, much lower than some poorer districts like Kolar, in its neighbourhood and Bidar in north Kanataka. The national average is 927/1000, according to 2001 Census.


Is it not time to wake up?

Religion, thy name is strife.....

Started writing on the Delhi blast the same day but was instead lost in a few blogs &newspapers.

Roop in her post has expressed her anguish well and has raised valid questions too. The comments on her blogs should be read with openness. I had already read Nimmy’s post along with many other blogs and newspapers trying to seek answers. I have also been reading blogs and sites upholding “Hinduvata” and did feel that something is indeed simmering in our country. The Delhi blasts painfully reminded me that a stage has reached where even the Indian Muslims have succumbed. Earlier it was easy to blame it on Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Violence is never the answer for anything. No one has the right to hurt anyone for any cause, especially since we claim to live in a democratic country. Sadly the police and the governments that order them fail to bring justice. Those lives are lost just because they chose to be at those spots and will never ever be an answer to any cause.

I read what lallopolo has commented on Roop’s post and he has raised a valid point. This is not the time to isolate any community. I being from another minority community (I am now forced to call myself this name I so abhor) can understand it very well, especially upon seeing the growing animosity towards Christians in the name of “conversion”. While I do agree that there are name sake Christians who have lost all good sense, I will not accept if the entire Christian community is blamed. I have read blogs where videos of Christian conversions and senseless acts by preachers have been posted and I myself squirm on my seat helplessly. In a state like Kerala where Christians have existed for almost 2000 years (if history should be believed), one never felt the pangs of being a minority and hence never gave that word a second thought. I am a proud Indian and I never chose my friends on the basis of religion and still have friends from all religions.

So if there are those among the minorities and the majority who wants to forget what India really is and give it up all for their religion it is up to the law of the land to take immediate measures instead of resorting to cheap politics. It is also up to each of us to pass this message within our own community and to point out those who err.

I also liked what Siddusaaeb wrote…

What could we, Indians, do?

1. Remain vigilant and report suspicious objects/persons at once.

2. Use tools like the Right to Information (RTI) Act to find out about the measures being taken by the administration to improve security, besides publicising security lapses when we come across any.

3. Stop voting for parties that incite, promote and/or actually organise communal violence in the form of riots, so that there is no incentive for these parties to organise such violence in the future. That can, in turn, prevent terrorists from getting local support in the name of extracting ‘revenge’ for the communal riots.

4. Campaign for the perpetrators of communal riots/bomb-blasts to be brought to justice at the earliest possible, so that, once again, the number of local recruits available to terrorist organizations can be reduced.

But then again succumbing to cynicism, are our governments capable of doing so? Although a major section of Indians trusted this government on the nuclear deal, I don’t find the same trust when it comes to resolving this issue.