Gendercide Takes Away Basic Human Rights from Girls

Guest Blog Post provided by Sarpreet Kahlon

Sarpreet is a third year student at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) and is studying Health Sciences. She began a club last year called United Against Gendercide with the hope of creating awareness and inspiring students to unite in the fight against gender discrimination. GirlKIND is very proud of all the work she has done in raising awareness and making a difference in her community. Great job Sarpreet!

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My community is not restricted to my neighbourhood and it is not bound by the borders of my country, I am a part of a global community.

As a part of this global community I believe gendercide is one of humanity’s greatest challenges. The acts of foeticide and infanticide continue to take away basic human rights from girls. UNICEF estimates that 5 million female fetuses are aborted every year in India, and 1 out of 4 girls born in India will not survive past puberty.

While some mothers fight for their daughters, others blinded by cultural preferences choose to strangle, burn and bury their daughters. Governments are failing to provide adequate protection. China’s one-child policy continues to promote the killing of girls and promotional posters continue to remind the Indian population that spending 500 rupees on an abortion is better than having to spend 5000 rupees for dowry. In India, the ratio of girls to boys is 914 to 1000. In China the sex ratio stands at 119.45 boys for every 100 girls.

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India's Everday Hero: Sandhya Puchalalpalli

(to the left Sandhya Puchalalpalli, photo courtesy of Kent Becker)

There are people in this world that say they would like to create change and then there are those who create change through their actions. One such woman is Sandhya Puchalalpalli who created Aarti Home in the early 1990s as a home for abandoned and unwanted baby girls. Twenty years later, she has become India’s every day hero.

I first learned about Sandhya after watching this BBC documentary, “India’s Missing Girls,” directed and produced by Ashok Prasad in 2007. Please do watch it when you can.

“I set up Aarti Home as a shelter home for abandoned young girls but our journey eventually led us to their mothers. Behind every abandoned child, we found a mother who was either unable to afford the extra cost or was unable to protect her. This made us rethink our approach. From addressing the symptoms, we began to look at solving the issues that lay beneath them,” explains Sandhya.

Sandhya’s journey that led her to create Aarti Home in 1992 began when she found an abandoned baby girl on a street in her hometown Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.  Sandhya took the 2 ½ year old girl named Radhika home and cared for her as one of her own. 

“The moment, at which Radhika walked into my life, I decided that it was time we started an organization in order to take care of such girls. I made a few phone calls to friends and suggested we pool in money to set up a home for orphaned girls,” said Sandhya.

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GirlKIND's 1st Year Anniversary

This month marks GirlKIND's 1st year anniversary. One year and counting! We are so very grateful for each and everyone of you that has supported our message of helping create a better world where EVERY GIRL MATTERS. As we embark on another year of creating change, educating and inspiring others, we look forward to having you all with us on our journey. A BIG thank you to all our volunteers that have dedicated their time, skills and efforts to get our message out to various communities.