A Glimpse of Reality
By Anandmurti Gurumaa
Woman - An embodiment of love & compassion
Woman is an embodiment of love, grace, and compassion; understanding, balanced, sharp, witty, beautiful, and artistic. We can go on and on and still the essence of woman hood will be difficult to define. She creates, she nurtures, she supports, she loves, and she is a power house! But it is extremely agonizing to see her being deprived of the very right to live. Yes, it’s true! The Indian society considers the birth of girl child as a matter of disgrace which has lead to the prevalence of horrid practices like female infanticide and female foeticide.
Perils of technological advancement
The modern technology which was designed to detect any of the gender related congenital abnormality of the foetus is now being widely abused to detect the sex of the foetus with the intention of getting it aborted if it happens to be that of a female. Killing of girls by forcing a sand bag on their face or by throttling within hours of being born is not a rare phenomenon besides the practice of pre-birth-elimination of female foetuses. And the major cause of more women resorting to this practice is because of their preference for sons.
Killing girls because of the age old myths
It is unfortunate that our society prefers sons just because of the myth that they carry forward the name and tradition of the family; they are considered a source of support during old age and for performing religious rites at the time of cremation and subsequently. This entire rubbish ness is instilled in the minds of children too, right from their childhood; girls are given the discriminatory treatment, boys are given preference, and the evil practices continue unabated across India.
Alarming Decline in Sex ratio
We have indeed come a long way but unfortunately towards creating an imbalance in our society. The 2001 census showed evidence that across India there had been a sharp decline in the number of female children. "It’s an urban phenomenon, but what is worrying is that it is spreading to rural areas now as the technology spreads,"
According to the report of United Nation Population Fund, Key findings include:
A national decline from 945 to 927 in the number of girls per 1,000 boys aged 0-6 between 1991 and 2001.
1981-91 census shows 1.37 crore more boys than girls. 2001 census shows there are 42 crore children, with boys outnumbering girls by 1.98 crores.
A grave situation in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the ratio has drastically declined to fewer than 800 girls for every 1,000 boys.
A low child sex ratio in certain districts, including the South West District of Delhi, which are "amongst the most prosperous in the country".
Experts predict that if the trend continues, and reaches the dangerous levels of Haryana or Punjab, the Indian society will have to grapple with severe problems including spiraling crime, trafficking of women and related social problems.
A wake up call for all of us
Preference for sons shall not disappear until girls are empowered as much as boys. Empowering the girl child through education is an indispensable tool to curb the growing menace of gender inequality, declining sex ratio, and discriminatory treatment given to women in India. Empowered woman is strong enough to stand as a support for her family and community at large. She further contributes to the prospects of next generation.
The need of the hour is to raise voice against the killing of girls and make a collective effort to stop this genocide.
Woman is an embodiment of love, grace, and compassion; understanding, balanced, sharp, witty, beautiful, and artistic. We can go on and on and still the essence of woman hood will be difficult to define. She creates, she nurtures, she supports, she loves, and she is a power house! But it is extremely agonizing to see her being deprived of the very right to live. Yes, it’s true! The Indian society considers the birth of girl child as a matter of disgrace which has lead to the prevalence of horrid practices like female infanticide and female foeticide.
Perils of technological advancement
The modern technology which was designed to detect any of the gender related congenital abnormality of the foetus is now being widely abused to detect the sex of the foetus with the intention of getting it aborted if it happens to be that of a female. Killing of girls by forcing a sand bag on their face or by throttling within hours of being born is not a rare phenomenon besides the practice of pre-birth-elimination of female foetuses. And the major cause of more women resorting to this practice is because of their preference for sons.
Killing girls because of the age old myths
It is unfortunate that our society prefers sons just because of the myth that they carry forward the name and tradition of the family; they are considered a source of support during old age and for performing religious rites at the time of cremation and subsequently. This entire rubbish ness is instilled in the minds of children too, right from their childhood; girls are given the discriminatory treatment, boys are given preference, and the evil practices continue unabated across India.
Alarming Decline in Sex ratio
We have indeed come a long way but unfortunately towards creating an imbalance in our society. The 2001 census showed evidence that across India there had been a sharp decline in the number of female children. "It’s an urban phenomenon, but what is worrying is that it is spreading to rural areas now as the technology spreads,"
According to the report of United Nation Population Fund, Key findings include:
A national decline from 945 to 927 in the number of girls per 1,000 boys aged 0-6 between 1991 and 2001.
1981-91 census shows 1.37 crore more boys than girls. 2001 census shows there are 42 crore children, with boys outnumbering girls by 1.98 crores.
A grave situation in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the ratio has drastically declined to fewer than 800 girls for every 1,000 boys.
A low child sex ratio in certain districts, including the South West District of Delhi, which are "amongst the most prosperous in the country".
Experts predict that if the trend continues, and reaches the dangerous levels of Haryana or Punjab, the Indian society will have to grapple with severe problems including spiraling crime, trafficking of women and related social problems.A wake up call for all of us
Preference for sons shall not disappear until girls are empowered as much as boys. Empowering the girl child through education is an indispensable tool to curb the growing menace of gender inequality, declining sex ratio, and discriminatory treatment given to women in India. Empowered woman is strong enough to stand as a support for her family and community at large. She further contributes to the prospects of next generation.
The need of the hour is to raise voice against the killing of girls and make a collective effort to stop this genocide.
'Every woman is an epitome of Shakti- Power’, and should realize this.'
Shakti was launched four years ago, at Amritsar, Punjab. It is a national level program which addresses the above social causes and provides for free scholarships upto senior secondary level to daughters of handicapped parents, widows and war martyrs irrespective of their religious background, caste and language.
Steps taken by Shakti - An initiative to empower the girl child
As of today, 125+ girls are progressing towards their bright future through the Shakti programme. They are provided with annual scholarships to complete their education up to 12th standard.
In the pursuit to empower the girl child, 5 students(girls) of B-Pharmacy, Sonipat; and 30 girl students of Institute of Nursing education, Ludhiana are also being provided financial support to complete their education. These girls have come from rural areas to pursue their education.
Every year special meditation camps are organized for the students in the confines of Gurumaa Ashram, under the directions of Gurumaa Ji. During these residential meditation camps Gurumaa Ji herself introduces these students to various types of meditation techniques. These meditation camps have been very beneficial for the over all growth of students; higher creativity, increased intelligence, improved memory, reduction in stress levels, and increased self confidence.
The training for self defense encompassing basic health regime by qualified professionals, career counseling to acquaint the students about the array of choices available to them, and complete knowledge about different institutes offering professional courses forms part of these meditation camps.
New innovation in Shakti
Shakti was launched four years ago, at Amritsar, Punjab. It is a national level program which addresses the above social causes and provides for free scholarships upto senior secondary level to daughters of handicapped parents, widows and war martyrs irrespective of their religious background, caste and language.
Steps taken by Shakti - An initiative to empower the girl child
As of today, 125+ girls are progressing towards their bright future through the Shakti programme. They are provided with annual scholarships to complete their education up to 12th standard.
In the pursuit to empower the girl child, 5 students(girls) of B-Pharmacy, Sonipat; and 30 girl students of Institute of Nursing education, Ludhiana are also being provided financial support to complete their education. These girls have come from rural areas to pursue their education.
Every year special meditation camps are organized for the students in the confines of Gurumaa Ashram, under the directions of Gurumaa Ji. During these residential meditation camps Gurumaa Ji herself introduces these students to various types of meditation techniques. These meditation camps have been very beneficial for the over all growth of students; higher creativity, increased intelligence, improved memory, reduction in stress levels, and increased self confidence.
The training for self defense encompassing basic health regime by qualified professionals, career counseling to acquaint the students about the array of choices available to them, and complete knowledge about different institutes offering professional courses forms part of these meditation camps.
New innovation in Shakti
CEAP –Computer Education Awareness Programme
CEAP, a new dimension to Shakti has enthusiastically embarked on the journey to create awareness about the significance of computers, to the girls of Govt. Schools in Sonipat. Under CEAP around 1500 girls have got their first exposure to the utility of computer including internet and knowledge about its basic functions.
CEAP, a new dimension to Shakti has enthusiastically embarked on the journey to create awareness about the significance of computers, to the girls of Govt. Schools in Sonipat. Under CEAP around 1500 girls have got their first exposure to the utility of computer including internet and knowledge about its basic functions.
The goal of this programme is to open a well equipped computer institute whereby the short term computer courses can be provided to the girls absolutely at no charge. We further envisage liaising with various organizations in order to offer employment opportunities to these girls.
Let’s come together!
The aim is to bring forth the stark illustrations of reality, and awaken the people to come together and combat the evil-practices prevalent in the society. It is our responsibility to take action against this inhuman treatment.
Join Hands with SHAKTI!
SAVE GIRLS! EMPOWER GIRLS!
Comment by Anu...June 5, 2007 7:47 AM
Hi, It is very encouraging to see the activities under the Shakti program and how little girls are getting a new leash of life . I was wondering if there could be some program under Shakti which can also stop infanticide from happening in the first place. Like door to door education for families or any action program which can monitor feoticide hotspots to prevent these crimes from happening? Do share your thoughts on this.
Posts
1 comment:
Hi, It is very encouraging to see the activities under the Shakti program and how little girls are getting a new leash of life . I was wondering if there could be some program under Shakti which can also stop infanticide from happening in the first place. Like door to door education for families or a action program which can monitor feoticide hotspots to prevent these crimes from happening? Do share your thoughts on this
Post a Comment