The large number of cases of female infanticde and female foeticide in India. Instances such as this (via):
The body the just-born girl child with the placenta and umbilical cord intact, was found on Friday morning behind one of the cars in the stilt car-park of Ramgiri Paradise building. The child’s head had been battered. The post-mortem report from Sion hospital states that a blunt object was used to kill her. (link)
Shocking and disgusting does not even begin to define the act. Also, as Patrix points out, this did not occur in some backwater rural community, but in the most urban of all places, Mumbai.
Perhaps initiatives such as this will at least save the lives of such unwanted children (via).
The Indian government is planning to set up a network of cradles around the country where parents can leave unwanted baby girls.
The minister for women and child development, Renuka Chowdhury, told BBC News the cradles would be "everywhere".
It is the latest initiative to try to wipe out the practice of female foeticide and female infanticide. (link)
A sad, but brutally true state of affair in the country.
3 Comments
February 18, 2007 at 3:27 pm
A country that openly refuses to care for its girls has a bleak future. Hope the society finds this repugnant enough to change for the better. Until then the government can only implement such piecemeal measures that do not address the core issue.
February 18, 2007 at 3:33 pm
@Pat: What you say is true - this is only a stop-gap measure. The real question is how can you change the mindset of the people ? The government can do only so much.
February 19, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I think it is a great initiative by the government.
@ Patrix - How does the government address the core issue? And what is the core issue - education for a more broader perspective?
@ Bongo
I agree the government can only do so much and I don’t think it is fair to blame the government for each and every issue that is a result of such an inherently stupid mindset among the populace.
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