Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Gender Imbalance

The thought of surgical modification of the gender of the child from female to male in the womb gave me the shivers. A friend posted this on the FB, and she being well-informed, I believe her.

But a newspaper report yesterday claimed that this news had first appeared in another newspaper, and was a skim-the-surface report. That such a thing is not possible at all.

That's a relief. But, what is scary is that we believe this to be possible. We don't say, "No mother will do it! No mother will allow such a barbaric thing!" For we know, mothers can and will. Whether due to pressure from family, or because she also believes girl children to be a burden, if she is given the choice, she will do it.

It is that thought that scares more.

Why, I wonder. Why are girl children thought of as burdens? Especially in today's world of equal opportunities, free primary education, free medical checkup and treatment, anti-dowry laws... They are not the uneducated poor who do this. But educated illiterates. For, this happens more in urban areas than rural areas, according to another report!

How can we reach into their minds and remove the darkness?

1 comment:

  1. Meera, do you mind if I cross-post this onto the Prajnya blog?

    ReplyDelete