Films on National Geographic on 20 October 2009
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Shakti Vahini
Oct 20, 2009, 3:27:10 AM10/20/09
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He had one regret in his life which was being too
late to save a young Nepalese girl from prostitution. So he and his
brothers decided to make a career out of fighting trafficking, AIDS and
female foeticide. Against the apathy of social service agencies and the
authorities, the three men went against the tide of conventions to
rescue girls from their abductors, teach prostitutes about AIDS
prevention and villagers about con-men in the trafficking trade.
Next Showing: Every year in India, thousands of baby girls are
killed for one reason – because they are female. This World
investigates why, and how it affects Indian society at large.
Earlier this summer, a farmer in the southern Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh made a shocking discovery. Sticking out of the earth was a tiny
human hand – and barely audible, the cries of a newborn baby. The
farmer had found a two day old baby girl who had been buried alive. The
baby was still conscious and was rushed to a local hospital to recover
from her ordeal. Her grandfather meanwhile confessed to the girl’s
attempted murder. With seven daughters already, he claimed he could not
afford the burden and expense of looking after yet another girl. He
admitted this crime would never have happened if the baby had been a
boy. Every year in India, tens of thousands of baby girls are killed –
simply because of their gender. Most are
aborted as soon as their sex is determined. Some are abandoned at
birth, while others are killed, shortly after. It is all part of
India’s centuries-old preference for boys, who will carry the family’s
name and traditionally provide for parents in their old age.
At an orphanage in the nearby town of Kadapa, its the first birthday
party for Harshita - a baby girl who was abandoned at the gates of the
orphanage when she was only two months old. Like at most Indian
orphanages, the majority of the children are girls. Most have no idea
of when their real birthdays are - since they arrived as babies or
small children. Sandhya Reddy who runs the orphanage explains that
girls are seen as a financial burden, who will join another family
after the payment of an expensive dowry. So great is the burden that
girls are seen to place on a
family, that some believe it is better that they are never born. In the
past, infanticide was seen as one solution. Now with advances in
medical technology, many parents are resorting to ultra sound scans to
determine the gender of the baby. If its a girl, they pay for an
abortion. In the state of Haryana – on the outskirts of India’s
capital, boy preference is even more ingrained. With
ultra sound testing routine in the state for the past two decades, the
sex ratios are now some of the lowest in the country, falling to as low
as 850 girls to 1000 men in some areas. Despite government efforts to
end sex selection, its meant that there is now a marked shortage of
brides.19 year old Rameer was forced to travel a thousand
miles to find his wife. His mother used family contacts to find a bride
in Jarkhand – a poor tribal state on east side of the country. His
mother has three other sons to marry – and will do the same for them.
His bride Ushama is a long way from her family and her traditions. Five
months pregnant, Rameer claims he would welcome his baby whatever its
sex. Is this a sign of progress at last – or simply another part of the
cover-up of the killing of baby girls?  Tuesday 20 October at 10pm
www.shaktivahini.org www.mediacoalition.in www.indialawyers.wordpress.com www.mediacoalition.wordpress.com www.savearravali.wordpress.com Delhi Office : 011- 42870188 Faridabad Office : 0129- 4045365 |
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