India's Lost Daughters: Can We Change the Narrative for Women in India?

"India", "Women", "Problems" — these three words have been in sync for years, decades, or perhaps centuries... No, this is not just another post to highlight women-related issues.

I recently read the news published, and the name 'Lancet' in it was the reason to read it on priority.

I am trying to attach a PDF file here — not everyone in the community may be willing to read something like this on Friday, but if possible, please read it and give it a thought.

Please see the attached file: India's_Lost_Daughters.pdf.

Ash.

P.S. In case the attachment fails, I will post the URLs to the articles in my reply to this post.

Dear Ashwini,

The count is really shocking... See, to stop this, you, we all, the girls/women of India have to take an oath to control this in our surroundings. Because today's women are not lacking in any field; rather, they are all doing better than men. I think education plays an important part here, that just holding a degree doesn't prove that you are a literate person... Our actions should be in accordance with that.

Appreciate your feelings by posting such info.

Regards,
Mona

Hi,

I am too overwhelmed. I have never accepted the logic behind preferring a male child and I don't understand how others do. And the worst is when you see women discriminating and torturing other women. I once read that a woman has borne so much pain in her life that it becomes a mentality of hers to inflict the same pain and suffering on another woman. Many times, it's their own daughters or daughters-in-law.

I agree with Mona; we have to take a stand and take an oath to stop such horrible things from happening around us. Education is not just holding degree certificates or spending lakhs of rupees to get an MBA. Education has been around for decades to spread knowledge. Why do we need knowledge? To live our practical and civilized lives. To understand and accept the meaning and importance of "equality," "humanity," "freedom," and "respect."

Thanks for the post, Ashwini. I was under the impression that the law is actually being implemented and working pretty well, that the number of female fetus killings has reduced drastically in the past few years. Now I know it's not and that a lot of effort does need to be taken.

Regards,

Vinisha.

Dear All,

I am so sorry for the inconvenience caused. This time, I will try to attach the Word file (perhaps the problem was caused by some Acrobat settings). Here is a report by Fjordman which is equally shocking and definitely sending devastating messages. What has happened to the humanity...? Where are we leading to??

:x :( :cry: Ash.

I think for all our talk of India's culture, we are basically a country of greedy and materialistic people. If you make money, you are valued; if not, you are useless. Women are generally not valued because they don't make money (I'm not talking about the women on this forum... I'm talking about rural women, etc). Men are valued only to the extent that they make money; if you don't make money, even men are considered useless.

Basically, the main thing I think that needs to be done is this: more women should enter the workforce. Once this is done, they will also start being valued.

It really is a cause of concern but I don't understand... What is the difference? How does it matter if it's a girl or a guy? It's your own kid... The thought of "killing" it makes me sick. And what is more appalling is that 33 or 43% of them are educated individuals like you and me. (I am not very sure about the stats... I read it in the paper long back). My mom has 2 daughters and she gives a real bad stare to anyone who asks "aapko beta nai hai." Anyway... What is the solution? There are so many examples and people still want a child... So what else? Is it a state of mind?

Sunayna,

The mindset and generally prevailing psyche of our society needs a change and overhaul. First, we (as a society) are not keeping up with the times, and secondly, we have already given up on some of our unified thinking. We have to stand up, unify, and stress on values.

We (all of us included) need not blame ourselves and feel low, but yes, we are responsible every bit. I, you, and each person have to contribute to the betterment of the situation.

Ash.