In my everyday chat conversations with my friend “Shipra” we came to a topic of discussion on the movie Matrubhoomi. I saw the movie last year and it still sends shivers down my spine whenever I remember the story.
The movie revolves around a time when female feticide has skewed the male female ratio so much that the heroine of the movie Kalki is married off to five brothers. The whole setting is of some village in Bihar. The movie leaves you with visions of barbaric men and scenes of violence. The theme of the movie, the skewed gender ratio if we keep on killing the girl child, was good. The way it is put across by the director leaves you with a bad taste.
The fate of the girl child today in India is as dismal as it was two decades back. In spite of laws banning sex determination of an unborn child, the killing of female fetuses is still common in some parts of India. The country which worships goddesses like Laxmi and Durga who are females, now has to bribe its citizens by launching monetary schemes to save the girl child.
The situation has come to this stage that the Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhary launched a “Conditional cash Transfer for Girl Child with Insurance Cover (CCT).” This scheme will give the family with a girl child, money at certain intervals and for specific purposes like vaccination, education etc. till the girl turns eighteen.
This scheme was launched with a mindset that it will encourage parents to educate the girl and look at her as an asset rather than a liability.
Economic, cultural, and religious dynamics play a major role in giving preference to a son over daughter. Gender discrimination and son idolization is a very common practice, be it educated or uneducated people. The girl child is considered as a burden to be passed on to another family. Having a son is considered good fortune. The son is considered an asset as he will continue the family’s lineage and also be a support to the parents in their old age.
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