First of all it looks like, you havent been blogging much in the recent past. So we all would like you to start blogging actively again.

Coming back to your post. You have a point for sure, but I would like to pin my thoughts on

“My dad has two daughters and now I recall several instances when people used to express regret that he does not have a son. I just cannot understand this attitude”

My dad has two sons and I am the eldest. My grandma and all relatives always regret the fact that my parents didnt go for a third child to have a baby girl. So we can not entirely judge the attitude with people showing their disappointment for either not have a baby boy or a baby girl.

However, this is no way a criteria to have the right to know the sex of the child. A couple should just plan for a child and not for a designer family.

Finally found your blog!! was wondering where your blog disappeared to.

As a girl and an only child…I did face quite a few instances where people sympathized with me for not having a brother though it never bothered me Infact, some went to question my parents incessantly as to why they didn’t consider trying for a son

But my parents were thankfully not so biased enough as to consider such comments seriously. I feel that this issue to a larger extent is because of lack of awareness amongst the women but then again…I see some who are pressured into aborting a girl child by in-laws and husbands themselves.

The worst cases are where no matter whatever counseling and guidance is provided they still insist on having a boy.

I have one serious case with my relative, she have two girls child, she love both but she want one boy also, she don’t want third girls child and she don’t want aborson also. She is going under depration day by day, we want to consult that Dr, to save her family life, if she will get sick or ill her daughters will also suffure, whom she loves

To save her family please provde Dr contat number for good suggestion and avoiding aborson

Thank in advance for support girl child good life, very impressiong artical

Thanks,

I’m pregnant now and I am so excited about it. My mother is very happy with just a thought of me being pregant. It doesn’t matter to her whether it would be a girl or a boy. But thats not how my mother-in-law thinks.

My mother-in-law has been a working women herself, mother of a very successful girl who ia a doctor now, but she still wants a boy. she says, if not this one, the next one hopefully, she says.

We could make laws more strict and we may even succeed with the law enforcement, but will people start thinking differently, i’m not sure.

The problem is rooted more socially than an individual problem. There are more responsibilities that come with the girl compared to a boy. Imagine if there is no dowry, no eve teasing, no domestic violence and gender equality in all aspects of the society – there will not be any issue to give birth to a girl child. We have to address these root causes first.

For example, statements like “time immemorial”, or “since civilization” doesnt have any substantiation of proof, but made out of fashion and implicit self-denigrating habit that’s imbibed in us for the past 200 years of british domination..

My simple answer is “Its not..” .. its historic that women had many sufferings.. but as far as i know, there is no historic data substantiating that people preferred only males and abhored females ..

the present preference over male child is a very recent phenomenon (probably past few decades), simply for the fact that till few decades ago there was no means to find whether a child is male of female before it was born..

there were some other very crude and cruel methods like killing the child as soon as it was born if it was female.. this was widely practiced in salem, dharmapuri districts..

And the reason is not just because of girl.. but the Utter poverty.. it has its own justification.. otherwise, what other reasons can we give for the numerous women who were still present in mumbai redlight area and sona kachi of calcutta ..

I could confidently say, that there were many inbuilt mechanisms to protect the girl child, in our traditional society.. please remember i dont claim that women had paradise in that… i am just saying that they had basic protection from abuse and malaise that we are seeing presently..

Those who had come from rural background can understand it very well..

There is one more factor.. majority of the women working in IT fields are from rural background.. and who educated them upto the degree level, so that they could secure a job..

Its the same society, that we are criticising, which was progressive enough a decade back so that today there are so many women working in IT fields..

I feel, this aspect has been continuously overlooked..

We need to learn to look at ourselves positively.. we had lot of positives and lot of negatives..
Let’s appreciate our positive, so that it spreads more to the other side..

i have been introduced to your blog by Mahesh, my brother. Though you have posed a question, for which generations have been searching for answers; the answer is not so simple, because, our views are laced with lot of malaise. According to me, there is no point in discussing…its time for action. Awareness amongst younger generation on the non existing bias and a healthy attitude towards girl children. (easier said than done, i know…but try we must) Secondly, the govt should announce that two child norm is acceptable in India, provided both are girls otherwise only one child, if it is a boy. If the first child to a couple is boy, then they cant have a second child…! If the first child is a girl, then they can have another child…for which sex determination is allowed and after that, the doctor who did should be made resposible to announce the sex determination done and ensure safe delivery of the baby. This may be possible, if the clinics are networked. I may be sounding radical…and impractical…but the bottom line is, it is time for action.

Preference for a male child has many reasons and all from th epast. These have become deep rooted and we see the impact of that in a very skewed sex ratio in our country.

I feel this will change and religious leaders and prominent opinion makers have to show the way. Recent efforts by the Sikh religious leaders to show restraint and crass display in weddings is one step in the right direction.

Spread of education is another change agent.

We have a choice of letting society evolve which means a generation or two from here. We may not have the time for that or along with this one could add an element of social transformation.

Religion is still a powerful factor. Entwining the message through religion could hasten this process of change.

As a father of two daughters, I have never missed having a son. Many of my friends have one / two daughters as their only children and nobody is upset at this. May our tribe increase.