“Treat her as an asset rather than a liability”

The nation where Ma Durga and  Ma Parvati are worshipped is ironically the nation that still follows a culture where people idolize son and mourns daughters. Where woman like Mary Kom is born who bring laurels to country and where the newspapers are ecstatic over the appointment of an India-born woman as PepsiCo’s CEO, there is a surprising phenomenon discovered that dozens of female fetus are dumped each day. India is a great civilization and a confident country that aspires to become one of the leading nations of the world. Gender determination is easy and if this tradition continues, India will never achieve this dream until it learns to appreciate the value of a woman as the same as that of a man. Girls are seen as a burden on the household and a thankless responsibility. They are perceived as offspring who, unlike the sons, would not carry on the family’s name. Instead, a great amount of money would have to be arranged for their wedding which would benefit the homes of their husband’s families.

UN figures out that about 750,000 girls are aborted every year in India. Abortion rates are increasing in almost 80% of the India states, mainly Punjab and Haryana. These two states have the highest number of abortions every year. If the practice continues, then no longer a day will come when Mother India will have no mothers, potentially, no life. The need of hour is to realize that girl child can no more be considered as liability as she is capable of doing everything in every field. Being a girl first and then a women next, they are doing wonders in the society. She is an asset in every possible way than a boy, to quote few -Only a woman can manage both household chores and workload without stress. A woman can take care of her child in a better way than men. Women are more responsible towards their work than men.

To conclude, I would say that we all are proud citizens of India. We have to realize our responsibilities and give a halt to this evil crime. What can we do to curb the brutal and undesirable practice of mass killing girls? If patriarchal society understands that girls are not a liability rather an asset then not only this crime but also many other crimes relating to women will vanish.

— About the Author: The article has been contributed by our intern, Swati Agrawal.