Page 51 - index
P. 51
I am a 20-year-old engineering student. Very close to my house in Rajkot lives a politician who runs a
hospital in which female foeticide occurs every night. All the people here know about this bad activity
but all of us, even my papa who is a teacher, are afraid to tell anyone about it. I want to stop this activity.
-Anool
--
I know of a man in a small town in Punjab who was running an illegal maternity clinic since 1987 where,
assisted by a team of nurses, he ‘helped’ expectant parents determine the sex of their foetuses and
aborted the female ones if the parents so desired. The foetuses were secretly thrown in the well.
It was only when one of the nurses, upset over her salary, reported the matter to the authorities that the
decomposed remains of placentas and foetuses were discovered in the well and the killings became
public knowledge. The news did not shake the nation. Why?
-Inder
--
When my teacher got married to an engineer who had also served in the Indian army, she had no idea
that his family would be so superstitious. Her father-in-law did some jadu-tona – mixed some
‘medicines’ with her food – when he came to know that my friend was carrying a baby girl. Her husband
left her soon after the girl was born. My teacher now lives with her parents and is still struggling to cope
with the loss.
-Joanita
--
I am a doctor and have witnessed first-hand the level of hatred our society has for girls. Once, when my
patient delivered a baby, upon seeing that it was a girl, she immediately burst into tears. She said that
her husband would not accept her. Another patient refused to breastfeed her daughter. In fact, she
insisted that the girl was not hers and did not want to take the child home. After a lot of coaxing by the
hospital staff, she finally breastfed the baby and took her home but I am worried and wondering about
the kind of life that awaits the poor child.
-Suchita
--
My daughter’s in-laws did not even come to the hospital room to see their granddaughter. They
humiliated my daughter for giving birth to a girl. Her husband too ran away from the hospital. We called
them but they said they don’t know us. We begged them a lot but it was of no use. Later, we came to
know that her husband had married earlier also and left that woman because she gave birth to a girl.
-Mitesh
--
Ever since I got married, I was harassed by my in-laws for not being able to become pregnant. They kept
asking for a boy. I felt like committing suicide but didn’t out of concern for my parents and younger
siblings. Finally, I became pregnant after seven years of waiting.
-Sadhana
--
I have a two-year-old daughter and my family has been wanting me to give birth to a baby boy quickly.
They have gone on and on about this. I am pregnant but so scared about what it will be.
-Mahima
48
hospital in which female foeticide occurs every night. All the people here know about this bad activity
but all of us, even my papa who is a teacher, are afraid to tell anyone about it. I want to stop this activity.
-Anool
--
I know of a man in a small town in Punjab who was running an illegal maternity clinic since 1987 where,
assisted by a team of nurses, he ‘helped’ expectant parents determine the sex of their foetuses and
aborted the female ones if the parents so desired. The foetuses were secretly thrown in the well.
It was only when one of the nurses, upset over her salary, reported the matter to the authorities that the
decomposed remains of placentas and foetuses were discovered in the well and the killings became
public knowledge. The news did not shake the nation. Why?
-Inder
--
When my teacher got married to an engineer who had also served in the Indian army, she had no idea
that his family would be so superstitious. Her father-in-law did some jadu-tona – mixed some
‘medicines’ with her food – when he came to know that my friend was carrying a baby girl. Her husband
left her soon after the girl was born. My teacher now lives with her parents and is still struggling to cope
with the loss.
-Joanita
--
I am a doctor and have witnessed first-hand the level of hatred our society has for girls. Once, when my
patient delivered a baby, upon seeing that it was a girl, she immediately burst into tears. She said that
her husband would not accept her. Another patient refused to breastfeed her daughter. In fact, she
insisted that the girl was not hers and did not want to take the child home. After a lot of coaxing by the
hospital staff, she finally breastfed the baby and took her home but I am worried and wondering about
the kind of life that awaits the poor child.
-Suchita
--
My daughter’s in-laws did not even come to the hospital room to see their granddaughter. They
humiliated my daughter for giving birth to a girl. Her husband too ran away from the hospital. We called
them but they said they don’t know us. We begged them a lot but it was of no use. Later, we came to
know that her husband had married earlier also and left that woman because she gave birth to a girl.
-Mitesh
--
Ever since I got married, I was harassed by my in-laws for not being able to become pregnant. They kept
asking for a boy. I felt like committing suicide but didn’t out of concern for my parents and younger
siblings. Finally, I became pregnant after seven years of waiting.
-Sadhana
--
I have a two-year-old daughter and my family has been wanting me to give birth to a baby boy quickly.
They have gone on and on about this. I am pregnant but so scared about what it will be.
-Mahima
48
