A Year of Blogging: December 10, 2011

December 10 was 'Human Rights Day'. It was created by the United Nations to promote the awareness of Human Rights issues around the globe. At first, I had no idea what I would write about for this day. Then I remembered the 20/20 episode I watched Friday night. I tuned in to see the Mindy McCready interview. I don't know why, I guess there just wasn't anything else interesting on television. But the part that caught my attention was about the gendercide in India. The female race is being practically eliminated in India. For families in India, boys are preferred. Boys have always been preferred. A baby daughter means the family will have to provide a dowry when she is married. If you have a son, you receive the dowry. Dowry's can be quite expensive, and a terrible burden for families. Ultrasounds are used to determine the sex of the baby. This is a common practice here in the US. My sister had an ultrasound with both children, and afterwards we knew whether to buy purple or blue. In India however, ultrasounds are done as a means of selecting the gender of the child. If the ultrasound shows the baby is a girl, the women are often taken to an abortionist. Ultrasounds are illegal in India, but the law is rarely enforced. Even after the baby is born, they are not safe. One mother (who was a Doctor, married to another Doctor) told that her inlaws fed her cake made with eggs (which she is allergic to) to take her to the hospital and had the ER doctor do an ultrasound to learn the gender of the twins she was carrying. When it was revealed she was carrying twin daughters, they tried to convince her to have an abortion. When she refused, they continued to torture her. When her daughters were infants, the mother in law threw one of the children down the stairs in an effort to kill her. This mother has fled the house of her husband with her children, and she fears for their lives every single day. Some baby girls are left in alleys. Abandoned simply because they are girls. I remember reading in the paper a couple of months ago about a naming ceremony for teenage girls. The girls had been given names like Nakusa or Nakushi at birth. The names meant 'unwanted' in Hindi. The purpose of the naming ceremony was to give the girls new names. Each girl was able to choose her own. The story intrigued me, but I had no idea what was going on until I saw the 20/20 program. As a woman living in the US, it is easy to forget that women in other countries do not enjoy the same liberties that we do. I grew up being told I could be whatever I wanted. My dear Grandpa Wager didn't mind that he only had daughters and granddaughters. He said boys were trouble. I can't even begin to fathom what these girls and women go through. I do know, however, that as a woman, no matter where you live, this should outrage you. But not just as a woman, as a human. There are ways to help. While we've made great strides in the US and Europe, we need to remember the struggle of our sisters worldwide.