Save The Girl Child

It is indeed heartening to know that the government is now talking of saving the girl child as the root of all our problems stems from this fact, that women keep giving birth till they get that one male child.

The below is a photo-essay for which I won an international competition in 2010 which describes what my maid was going through at that point.

https://www.rnw.org/archive/india-womans-cry-help-wins-rnw-competition

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rnw/4104973763/


RNW competition winning entry

Let 'her' live
I get headaches, terrible ones. I black out many a times. They beat me a lot. On the head. He started drinking. He cannot take stress, oh so much stress because I was incomplete. No, he is fine, it has nothing to do with him at all. Why? Because it comes out of me. I am the one who delivers and delivers always the wrong one. Oh he is so stressed. He needs his drinks. I am full of strength. My spirit can never die. I live to take on even his stress.
Every time at the delivery room, it is sheer panic for me. Oh no, again a girl. 4th time. I pity her and me. Will they let her and me live peacefully?. His mother hates me. She looks at me with disgust.
Yet again, the delivery room. And yet again the girl for the 5th time. They don’t even look at the child. She means nothing to them. They do not give me anything to eat. It's enough now, I do not want to go through all of this again. His mother hits me. She hates me. She does not even think for a second how we are going to feed all these mouths. How am I going to give all of them good education? And where will I get the money to marry off all the girls?
Again the delivery room. Please, please God save me. Please deliver me of all this pain. Please make this the last time. Yes, God listens to me. Finally it is a BOY. There is happiness all round me at the delivery room. So much joy. She has brought food for me. They are all distributing sweets. They are walking with their heads held high. She is now so happy. She loves me. They do not think I am incomplete, that after 5 children. They have a son, a son, a son.
My husband’s mother soon dies and leaves me with all these mouths to feed. And also leaves me with these headaches, they don’t go away and I cannot work now. Oh, who will look after so many of my children?