| In The Interest Of The Mother And The Child
No woman differentiates between a son and a daughter. The cradle scheme
empowers her to escape the pressures of a male-enforced abortion culture
KHUSHBOO
THERE IS NO DOUBT the status of a
girl child has improved substantially
since independence. Girls have become
independent and they are taking their
own decisions. There was a time when girls
were not even allowed to think about education.
The situation has changed today. Parents
are themselves encouraging their girls to
study well. However, there’s much more to be
done in rural areas. The government has to
ensure that every girl child is given education.
What a son can do, a daughter can do
better if she is educated.
Some think it is
only with a son the family can move ahead. I
beg to differ. I have two daughters, Anandita
and Avantika. They are going to do me
proud one day. I am waiting for a day when
people will turn around and say, “This is
Ananthitha’s and Avantika’s mom.” My husband
and I have never thought of having a
son. Let me tell you, if I get pregnant again, I
would pray for another girl child.
No mother would differentiate between a
girl child and a boy child. It is only when people
battle poverty that they look at the girl
child as a burden. How are they going to educate
her, have her married?
In villages, people
have this mindset that a man can go out,
work in the field or do any kind of job but a
girl is not capable of doing it. So the problem
has more to do with economic conditions.
In the cities, it is different. Science has
advanced so you can find out the sex of the
child before it is born. Sadly, some people
are misusing it. There is this male ego in society.
Some men feel they are not man
enough if their wife gives birth to a girl
child. A woman has no such problems. For
her what matters most is being a mother.
She doesn’t care whether it is a male child
or a female child: 99 percent women would
not want their child to be aborted. If they do,
knowing that it is a female child, it is under
the pressure of the family members.
The cradle baby scheme is a good project.
The mother who hands over the child is thinking
about the best interest of the child. She
believes the child would be placed in a better
family and would receive good education and
three meals a day that she can’t afford.
I think it is better to leave the child on the
government cradle rather than throwing
her in the garbage bin, where she could be
snatched and eaten by dogs. They also give
you 60 days to take the baby back in case
you have a change of heart.
Placing the baby in adoption is better that
putting the child in an orphanage.
It is important
the agencies hand over the child to the
correct people. They must be genuine people,
who could bring up the child well. But the government’s responsibility should not end
there. The agencies should report to the government
saying where the child has been
handed over and give periodical reports till
she is 18. The government should directly
follow up on the welfare of the child on a
yearly basis and maintain records of each
child. These records should be transparent.
Khushboo is a leading Tamil actor |
