I wanted to post something in response to an article my little sister posted on facebook. The article is about a family who after mistakenly was given the wrong baby (a boy) at the hospital is refusing to take their daughter and fighting for custody of the boy.
You can read the full article here:
http://now.msn.com/living/0402-couple-trades-girl-for-boy.aspx
This may shock most of you, but sadly this does not shock me anymore. It still outrages me without any doubt, but I have ceased to be shocked at how females are treated and regarded here (or I should say mistreated and disregarded). I will get into that more in another post. I wanted to give some background to help you put this situation into perspective.
Here’s a good follow-up article which gives a bigger picture of the crisis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13264301
Basically, the article talks about the issue of female feticide and infanticide. We are talking about 8 MILLION missing girls in the last decade. Essentially, 1 million girls each year. It’s a trend for the rich down to the poor. We are not just talking about aborting a baby. Females are killed after they are born by the family. It has left the female-male ratio at about 917 to 1,000. Virtually India is experiencing a genocide or gendercide.
Here are two videos which show you what people are doing to raise awareness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6AZvf60a-w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysxxSPXEVU&feature=related
A good read to understand the issues women face in this country is …
May You Be The Mother Of A Hundred Sons by Elisabeth Bumiller
This was one of the first books I read upon arrival. It has held true and relevant to today’s women.
