Normally I have some suggestion for the problem being discussed. This is not an article of that kind. I want to use this article to convey a very deep hurt that I carry about our society. Being a father of a girl, this topic is especially hurtful.
Ours is a strange society. We worship many Devis. We fast for them during Navratri. We sing, pray and dance in worship and celebration. Culturally also, we celebrate the female form. Look at our art (folk and otherwise), sculpture and various forms of dances. Politically, were one of the first to elect a female PM.
So, at first glance, it looks like India must be the promised land for women. However if you peel the first layer, you will see the truth does not mesh with our culture and religion. The truth is painful and ugly. As a recent report on Dangerous countries for women, we rank 4th. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not in top five. Here is what it says on the report:
4. INDIA
Female foeticide, child marriage and high levels of trafficking and domestic servitude make the world's largest democracy the fourth most dangerous place for women, the poll showed.
* 100 million people, mostly women and girls, are involved in trafficking in one way or another, according to former Indian Home Secretay Madhukar Gupta.
* Up to 50 million girls are "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide.
* 44.5 pct of girls are married before the age of 18.
Some of the claims in this report may be dubious because there is no way to get a real number of female foeticide. Even the other numbers could have been fudged to make us look bad. I reason why say that is the data was collected by female rights groups and they must have gotten the India data from the Indian ilk. Can you really trust Indian liberals? Never.
Having said that, I would like to say that if the number of female infanticide and foeticide is not 50 million then it must still be close. After all, we know what the Indian attitudes towards the female gender are(Manuwadi scripts notwithstanding). We know that in a lot of areas, female foeticide is a severe problem. All India parents want sons as if that will cure all their problems. It seems that most prevalent school of thought is that raising a girl and then marrying her off with a lot of dowry is not exactly profitable. Also, a non-conformist girl can bring shame to the family. What is truly shameful is that a number of educated middle class people think like that. For them and others in the same boat, I have this to say. Take a look at the third world countries and status of their women versus the status of women in developed countries. The answer is right there.
If we suppress and subjugate half our population then we are committing hara-kiri. Our religion has the same message. That is why “kanyadaan” is considered to be a “punya”.
If you want the socio-economic reason against the treatment dished out to girls in India then here is the truth. In Maharashtra, there is a doctor who has carried out 2790 abortions in six months. You don’t have to be a Catholic to be shocked and sickened by that. With selective abortions, we are messing with mother nature. Soon there will be a lot more men than women. A lot of those men who get left out, will pose a lot of problems for the country. China already has more men than women. It has already been seen that crime and other social problems are higher in the areas where there are more men than women.
I could go on and on but the fact is that the status quo is unacceptable. If we do not take care of this problem and overhaul our attitude towards our wives, daughters and daughters in law and make those attitudes commensurate with our Hindu traditions, they we should be ready for the death of India as a civilized country.
The article on the dangerous countries for women can be read at:http://in.news.yahoo.com/factbox-worlds-most-dangerous-countries-women-031509145.html
The article on the butcher of Parli can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-did-butcher-of-parli-abort-2790-female-foetuses-in-6-months/20110624.htm
Ours is a strange society. We worship many Devis. We fast for them during Navratri. We sing, pray and dance in worship and celebration. Culturally also, we celebrate the female form. Look at our art (folk and otherwise), sculpture and various forms of dances. Politically, were one of the first to elect a female PM.
So, at first glance, it looks like India must be the promised land for women. However if you peel the first layer, you will see the truth does not mesh with our culture and religion. The truth is painful and ugly. As a recent report on Dangerous countries for women, we rank 4th. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not in top five. Here is what it says on the report:
4. INDIA
Female foeticide, child marriage and high levels of trafficking and domestic servitude make the world's largest democracy the fourth most dangerous place for women, the poll showed.
* 100 million people, mostly women and girls, are involved in trafficking in one way or another, according to former Indian Home Secretay Madhukar Gupta.
* Up to 50 million girls are "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide.
* 44.5 pct of girls are married before the age of 18.
Some of the claims in this report may be dubious because there is no way to get a real number of female foeticide. Even the other numbers could have been fudged to make us look bad. I reason why say that is the data was collected by female rights groups and they must have gotten the India data from the Indian ilk. Can you really trust Indian liberals? Never.
Having said that, I would like to say that if the number of female infanticide and foeticide is not 50 million then it must still be close. After all, we know what the Indian attitudes towards the female gender are(Manuwadi scripts notwithstanding). We know that in a lot of areas, female foeticide is a severe problem. All India parents want sons as if that will cure all their problems. It seems that most prevalent school of thought is that raising a girl and then marrying her off with a lot of dowry is not exactly profitable. Also, a non-conformist girl can bring shame to the family. What is truly shameful is that a number of educated middle class people think like that. For them and others in the same boat, I have this to say. Take a look at the third world countries and status of their women versus the status of women in developed countries. The answer is right there.
If we suppress and subjugate half our population then we are committing hara-kiri. Our religion has the same message. That is why “kanyadaan” is considered to be a “punya”.
If you want the socio-economic reason against the treatment dished out to girls in India then here is the truth. In Maharashtra, there is a doctor who has carried out 2790 abortions in six months. You don’t have to be a Catholic to be shocked and sickened by that. With selective abortions, we are messing with mother nature. Soon there will be a lot more men than women. A lot of those men who get left out, will pose a lot of problems for the country. China already has more men than women. It has already been seen that crime and other social problems are higher in the areas where there are more men than women.
I could go on and on but the fact is that the status quo is unacceptable. If we do not take care of this problem and overhaul our attitude towards our wives, daughters and daughters in law and make those attitudes commensurate with our Hindu traditions, they we should be ready for the death of India as a civilized country.
The article on the dangerous countries for women can be read at:http://in.news.yahoo.com/factbox-worlds-most-dangerous-countries-women-031509145.html
The article on the butcher of Parli can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-did-butcher-of-parli-abort-2790-female-foetuses-in-6-months/20110624.htm
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