Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Sohmakun
Most of the girls are relinquished for adoption because their birth families cannot give away a dowry. Why you ask?... because they are poor.
Also we as Americans cannot point the finger at East Indians for gender preferences. Ask any adoption agency and they can proudly state that nearly 70% of Americans want to adopt a girl. In Eastern Europe boys are severely overrepresented in orphanages making up 75% of the population.
|
I am sorry but i am kind of confused as to what you mean. But will try and answer anyhow. Do correct me if i misunderstood you.
The girls that are "ABANDONED" are not always abandoned due to poverty. ( i will not use relinquished........as to me the picture of a birth mother contacting an adoption agency, hospital or the Police comes to my mind)......in these cases its not like that at all. In my friends case her child had been found in a Jungle in Punjab with ant marks all over her body and surrounded by coyotes left to die before the villagers found her. Often the reasons are unwed mothers. Its seriously taboo to be discovered you had sex before marriage. I myself feel horrified to say lately i've been reading too many cases of honor killling. I thought it didn't happen too much. But recently a cousin killed his 2 sisters as they had a boyfriend . All in the bleeding name of "Honor". I also read the number of teen pregnancy in my country is increasing and numbers higher than the West. So what do these girls frightened for their life do. They "abandon" and dump their newborn to save their own life.
Also in States like Rajasthan, its a matter of pride to have boys and fewer or no girls as you have to lower your proud head in front of the boy's family during the girls marriage. Therefore its not lack of being able to give that awfull dowry but rather the cultural system we have in place for which girls are so undesired.
As for dowry, its a illegal practise and was rampant more when girls were not given education. Now girls are walking out of marriages and pursuing career when dowry comes in question. So dowry is not such a big trigger for girls being abandoned. Even my uneducated maid knows and wants her daughter to grow up and study to be a nurse rather than throw her in a house with dowry in hand.
Hope i cleared your understanding of the reasons why girls are abandoned in my country.
As for gender preferance why Americans prefer a girl must be same as why i hoped to have a baby girl. Its to dress them in cute clothes and play doll with them or whatever. While gender preferance in India for boys are for very sad reasons 1) He will take my family name forward 2) He will do my last rites during my death 3) I will never have to lower my head in front of a boy's family since girls family are considered second class in relationship hieracy. 4) I might have to give dowry.