Dislike for girl-child

A disturbing announcement by the Edhi Foundation claimed that more than 300 bodies of new born babies, mostly of girls, were recovered across Karachi in open spaces and on the roadsides during the course of the year. These figures are double that of the year 2018. Saad Edhi claims that certain cultural stereotypes that we have harshly accepted especially those surrounding girls are the main cause.

As class divide increases it becomes harder for the poor to sustain their livelihood and thus families have to rely on children to go out and work in order to earn. In such circumstances a female is of less use because they are considered as a burden rather than a resource. Therefore, families or parents find it more convenient either to kill them or leave them to die because they cannot afford healthcare nor pay for a funeral let alone carrying the burden throughout their lives. There is no other way of explaining this fact no matter how disturbing it sounds.

This problem persists even amongst the rich where there is much emphasis on pride and heritage. A boy, soon to be ‘man’, is considered as the upcoming stakeholder of the entire ancestry. While much importance is bestowed on boys who are destined to take the place as the head of the family, it seems that the choice, in some occasions, for the female is snatched soon after birth. The body is quietly disposed so that word of a female child doesn’t spread.

While gender and class seems to be a huge problem, some also act on religious impulses but such taboo topics cannot be discussed without repercussions.

The figures show the level of moral degradation in our society. In such dystopian times it is important that we give females an equal and active role in society while trying to remind ourselves of the importance of humanity. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2020.

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