Ad text
Tree of Life Adoption Center
  • Home
  • International Programs
    • Bulgaria >
      • Special Needs - Bulgaria
    • F.A.Q. Internationl Adoption
  • Waiting Children
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Fundraising, Grants & Loans
    • Adoptive Parenting
    • News & Press
  • Special Projects
    • Varna Fire Relief
    • Grandmother Program
    • Help for Andrey
    • Turgovishte Orphanage
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Us

What's In a Name

11/2/2011

0 Comments

 
MUMBAI, India — Hundreds of Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.

A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination that gives India a skewed gender ratio, with far more boys than girls.

The girls — wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair — lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets from Satara district officials in Maharashtra state.

In shedding names like "Nakusa" or "Nakushi," which mean "unwanted" in Hindi, some girls chose to name themselves after Bollywood stars like "Aishwarya" or Hindu goddesses like "Savitri." Some just wanted traditional names with happier meanings, such as "Vaishali" or "prosperous, beautiful and good."

"Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me this new name, and that makes me very happy," said a 15-year-old girl who had been named Nakusa by a grandfather disappointed by her birth. She chose the new name "Ashmita," which means "very tough" or "rock hard" in Hindi.

The plight of girls in India came to a focus as this year's census showed the nation's sex ratio had dropped over the past decade from 927 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of 6 to 914.

Maharashtra state's ratio is well below that, with just 883 girls for every 1,000 boys — down from 913 a decade ago. In the district of Satara, it is even lower at 881.

Such ratios are the result of abortions of female fetuses, or just sheer neglect leading to a higher death rate among girls. The problem is so serious in India that hospitals are legally banned from revealing the gender of an unborn fetus in order to prevent sex-selective abortions, though evidence suggests the information gets out.

Part of the reason Indians favor sons is the enormous expense of marrying off girls. Families often go into debt arranging marriages and paying for elaborate dowries. A boy, on the other hand, will one day bring home a bride and dowry. Hindu custom also dictates that only sons can light their parents' funeral pyres.
"Nakusa is a very negative name as far as female discrimination is concerned," said Satara district health officer Dr. Bhagwan Pawar, who came up with the idea for the renaming ceremony.

Other incentives, announced by federal or state governments every few years, include free meals and free education to encourage people to take care of their girls, and even cash bonuses for families with girls who graduate from high school.

Activists say the name "unwanted," which is widely given to girls across India, gives them the feeling they are worthless and a burden.

"When the child thinks about it, you know, 'My mom, my dad, and all my relatives and society call me unwanted,' she will feel very bad and depressed," said Sudha Kankaria of the organization Save the Girl Child. But giving these girls new names is only the beginning, she said.

"We have to take care of the girls, their education and even financial and social security, or again the cycle is going to repeat."

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to our Blog!

    Tree of Life Adoption Center strives to provide you with the most current up-to-date information in regards to the adoption world, our programs and post adoption resources.

    Archives

    November 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    April 2010
    January 2010
    June 2009

    Categories

    All
    2nd Trip
    Adoption Conference
    Adoption Finance
    Adoption Myths
    Adoption News
    Adoption Tax Credit
    Attachment
    Attachment Disorder
    Bonding
    Bulgaria
    Coming Home
    Earthquake
    Education
    Event Information
    Financing
    Fundraising
    Grants
    Grief And Loss
    Haiti
    Hauge
    Hauge Accreditation
    Humanitarian Aide
    Loans
    March 2011
    Moj
    Nafa
    Name Change
    New Adoption Cases
    Newsletter
    Parenting Classes
    Post Adoption
    Post-Adoption
    Pre Adoption
    Sleeping Habits
    Special Needs
    Speech And Language
    Taxes
    Transitioning
    Transracial Adoption
    Trip 1
    Trip 2
    Trust
    Visitation
    Visitation Trip
    While You Wait

    RSS Feed

Picture
Copyright 2012 Tree of Life Adoption Center
✕