The Unequal Music

Recently, while I accompanied my friend to the dentist I engrossed my self in one of the magazines on the coffee table. There was an article about the ‘Girl child’. Well, it’s a topic that’s neglected talking about, reading about and speaking about! But here I am, doing just the opposite.

Living in the city, being independent, going to work, being on my own, and shouldering the responsibilities I always felt that India had overcome the problem of girl child eons ago. Unfortunately I’m proved wrong after a bit of researching and googling. After some brooding though I’ve realized that the luxurious world I live in I’ve come to overlook or ignore these social problems. But I think its time for all of us snoozing out there to wake up and face the reality checks!

India is growing dynamically in every field. Today, the innovative technologies and improved infrastructure has become nation’s pride. The country has witnessed advancements in all fields but the shocking fact is the bias against a girl child that is still prevailing in the country.

Haryana for instance is among the Indian states where girl child related issues like female foeticide, infanticide, early child marriage, dignity need to be addressed to with urgency.

It sounds unbelievable that in this age and era, girls are still classified as the ‘unwanted objects’.

This social evil is deep rooted in Indian ethos and the most shocking fact is that the innovative and hard high end technologies are brutally killing the Indian girl child. Innovative techniques, like biopsy, ultrasound, scan tests and amniocentesis, devised to detect genetic abnormalities, are highly misused by number of families to detect gender of the unborn child. These clinical tests are highly contributing to the rise in genocide of the unborn girl child.

In some parts of India the percentage difference of females over males is as high as 15.71%. National female to male ratio is a pathetic 933:1000. It sounds shocking but, the fact is that 1 out of every 6 girls does not live to see her 15th birthday. One third of these deaths take place at birth. Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination. Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India. Condition of majority of those who survive is no good, as 22 million girls below the age of 18 years are forced into marriage against their wishes many a times to males twice their age. Not just in villages but even in cities there are families who want a son not a daughter. Educating a daughter might seem as an added useless expense to some.

It’s simply not fair!

Female feticide and infanticide is not the only issues with a girl child in India. At every stage of life she is discriminated and neglected for basic nutrition, education and living standard. First when she was in the womb, then she was forced to miss the moment when she was supposed to enter the world. At the time of birth her relatives pulled her back and wrung her neck.

After killing her she was thrown into a trash can. It sounds melodramatic but the unfortunate part is that it’s a verity!

During childhood, her brother was loaded with new shoes, dresses and books to learn while she was gifted a broom, a wiper and lots of tears. In her teenage, she missed tasty delicious food to eat and got only the crumbs. During her college days, she was forced to get married, a stage where illiteracy, lack of education where her constant companions. Again if this female gives birth to a girl child, the journey begins once again. She missed all roses of life and was finally fitted to a graveyard. That’s where she got peace of mind. Is this equality?

The nation of mothers still follows a culture where people idolizes son and mourns daughters. UN figures out that about 750,000 girls are aborted every year in India. Abortion rates are increasing in almost 80% of the India states. The numbers are infuriating. If the practice continues, then no longer a day will come when Mother India will have no mothers, potentially, no life.

The need of hour is to realize our responsibilities and give a halt to this evil crime. What can we do to curb the brutal and undesirable practice of mass killing girls? A determined drive can initiate a spark to light the lamp and show the world that we all are part of the great Mother India and also the world.

As I researched further for more information on the topic, I’ve come to realize that this problem exists in other countries too, including a few very developed countries but in smaller scale of course. Though, the reality is shocking, it has to be faced!

Would writing blogs or articles about this really help? It might or might not. It depends on how you make use of it. The criticality of the situation compels us to try and help families by making them aware of this.

Time has arrived when we need to realize our responsibilities and give a halt to this evil crime. What can we do to curb the brutal and undesirable practice of mass killing girls? A determined drive can initiate a spark to light the lamp that will compel the darkness away!

This is how I’ve decided to begin, visit the nearby slums and provide education and awareness to girls. It’s not an easy job but it has to be done. There are foundations that focusing on welfare and empowerment of girl.

We as a nation seem quite content to accept and even promote violation of constitutional rights of girl child. But it is time to stop accepting!

Towards the end of this blog, it dawned to me that when every I've visited the orphanages, majority of the kids there were girls. Why is that so? Is it because people want to adopt boys and get rid of girls?? The question remains unanswered!

It is time to wake up and bring justice to the source that gave us a chance to see this beautiful life… it is time to make to make the unequal music a melodious one…!