11 Nov 2019 | 4 min Read
vani
Author | 82 Articles
Having a baby is a blessing but having a healthy baby is a conscious effort and a parent’s deepest desire.. There is no boundary to happiness that comes along with the two pink lines on the Preganews pregnancy detection card, the number 1 brand from Mankind Pharma. The good news of expecting a baby has no discrimination or boundaries. However, society in India still tries to draw a demarcation on this aspect of nature by playing a central role in perpetuating gender inequality and giving a preference of having a boy over a girl.
A Preference for sons
Gender inequality is a pertinent issue prevailing all over the world; however, its presence in India is far more complex. The preference for a boy over a girl has been deeply instituted in the Indian minds which leads to nothing but grave consequences that curbs the nation’s growth.Despite of a fairly rapid rate of economic growth, India’s progress towards gender equality has still been a disappointing factor. Increasing rates of female foeticide despite sex determination being outlawed in our country, crime against women, dowry system are some of the practices that create incentives in parents not to have a girl child especially in rural areas of our country.
A culturally ingrained parental preference for sons emanating from their importance as caregivers for parents in old age, is linked to a failed desire for daughters. Blame the cultural institutions like patriarchy (a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it) or patrilineality (inheritance through male descendants), preference for a son sets in as soon as the fetus comes to life in the womb. However, there are definitely certain sections of society that follow matriarchy and welcome daughters with immense happiness.
Need of the hour
It’s time to acknowledge the strengths of each gender equally and bring much needed change in the deep rooted traditional thinking of Indian society with regards to gender disparity. A child is a gift of nature. Nature has its own reasons for defining two genders and associating them with relevant strengths and weaknesses. It nowhere signifies one as more important over the other. The society that tries to change nature struggles to flourish. An affirmative and joint effort from every aspect of public sphere needs to be in place to achieve gender parity. It is critical to instill an attitudinal shift towards gender neutrality. Most importantly, a consistent effort to instill the importance of gender equality in our future generation is definitely a must in this direction.
Let’s not forget that when the stork of good news hits you, it is not a boy, it is a boy or girl. Need of the hour is to CHANGE; change individual mindset, change the way society prefers a boy over a girl, change the way society prefers gender over the health of a baby, change in attitude towards gender inequality.
Will you be the one who will bring this change? OR You will be the one who would still want to know the gender of the baby?
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