Will women in some Indian states go the way of the Dinosaur?

    

By     Anjali Mehta

Two categories of theories try to explain the mystery behind the extinction of the majestic dinosaurs that roamed the earth aeons ago.The gradualists feel that changing evolutionary trends such as competition with mammals and changes in vegetation and climate slowly eroded their numbers whereas catastrophists attribute it to one catastrophic event (a meteorite impact is usually cited) .

Seeing that the population of women in some states in India is steadily declining one needs to reflect (while it is still early days) whether some regional types of women too, could gradually become extinct? Regions lend their own special flavour to the entity we call woman. It would be hard to imagine our country without the brightly-attired women with their long veils from Rajasthan, the tall, fair sardarnis from Punjab, the recently succesful sportswomen from Haryana and so many others…

An observation of prevailing trends (the numbers are from reliable open sources) reveals that a woman’s very survival is challenged at many stages of  her life. This is more so in the poorer socioeconomic strata and in some parts of the country. For some women, it requires the right combination of luck and sheer tenacity to reach adulthood safely.

The first hurdle looms even before birth :

The illegal practice of letting parents know the sex of the child before it’s birth, continues. It has been found that first pregnancies usually are not aborted, but second and third pregnancies are. An overwhelming number of aborted fetuses are female.  A recent study in Lancet  found that sex selective abortions are on the rise in India. The National family health surveys have found a similar trend. Sex-selective abortions are more prevalent in the northern states .

Apart from the aborted foetus , the mother is also at definite risk. Although the MTP act has made nearly all types of abortion legal, for various reasons , more than seventy percent of abortions are carried out under unsatisfactory conditions in small, poorly equipped, unsanitary clinics run by inadequately qualified owners. Such abortions frequently lead to maternal mortality due to sepsis or undue bleeding .India has amongst the highest number of abortion related deaths.

 Challenges at birth :

The birth of a baby girl is not a unanimously joyous event in our country. Some families view girls as a social and economic burden and kill newborn girls with impunity. Some in desperate conditions carry out this act to save their girl from a possible future of pain and hardship. Convictions occur regularly for all manner of crimes but how many deaths of infant girls have been seriously investigated and how many parents convicted? Almost none. The rampant female infanticide is reflected in dwindling sex ratios. The average sex ratio for the country (rural and urban) is 940 women/ 1000 males. Some states are well below this averageand the concentration seems to be around Delhi (866 ), Chandigarh (818), Punjab (893) and Haryana(877), with Haryana having the lowest sex ratio among all the states (only the union territories of  Dadara(775) and Daman and Diu (618) have lower ratios). That the the capital of the country and it’s immediate surroundings, where there is relative economic prosperity, should have these low figures is something to think about.

Challenges in the teenage period

The women who are born under more favourable conditions and thus escape this ‘unnatural selection ‘ reach a stage of enrolment in school and studies. Alas, every child does not have a carefree childhood. Many small girls are married off just after attaining puberty. Child marriages are still highly prevalent in Rajasthan, Uttar pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal (with Rajasthan being the worst offender) despite there being an act against this. Teenage pregnancies are associated with a much higher mortality ratio : twice as high in the 15-19 age group compared with early twenties. Some teenage mothers who survive may have damage to their still immature internal organs and become incontinent. This may lead to social shunning and neglect. Some unfortunate teenage girls are abducted and sold into prostitution. The life expectancy is shortened for girls in the prostitution circuit due to a combination of lack of hygeine, forced use of drugs ,injuries inflicted by violent male clients and sexually transmitted diseases, notably HIV. Some unfortunate girls are simply raped and killed outright.

Young adults in a cruel world  

After this gruesome attrition process during the earlier years the more fortunate women who are able to actually complete an education and reach adulthood relatively unscathed then enter the domestic phase of their lives. Everyone is familiar with the dowry menace in our country. The word “marriage license” seems to be a license  to start milking the girl and her family for money. Dowry deaths are as prevalent in the educated  and (supposedly) thinking classes as among the poor.Although there is some conviction rate for this ghastly crime , it is clearly not enough of a deterrent since it is still widely prevalent and seemingly on the rise.

Motherhood

For the woman who makes it past these hurdles, to the state of motherhood, it’s not safe passage as yet. The odds are still stacked against her, specially if she is poor. India boasted of one of the highest maternal mortalities in the world in the earlier part of this decade.The latest statistics show some improvement (212 according to the census commision) but we still have a long way to international targets : 109/1000 by 2015 . Amongst the states, Assam, Uttar pradesh and Rajasthan seem to have the highest maternal mortality figures (480,440,388 respectively-as per Govt. of India statistics 2006) The reasons for this alarming statistic range from social and cultural beleifs and practises to poor infrastructure. Notable are: still prevalent child marriages leading to teenage pregnancies, unsafe delivery and abortion, lack of good hospitals for skilled care in rural areas, poor basic health of women leading to easy susceptibilty to infection and many others. When we realise that the supplementation needed in pregnancy consists of the very economical iron and folate tablets and two tetanus injections, the unnecessary sacrifice of maternal life seems very poignant. It is even more ironical when we consider that India is fast creating a good name for itself internationally in medical tourism.

Beyond motherhood

It seems that only at menopause does a womans fate appear to be a little more secure. However now the combination of her advancing years and the woman’s propensity to neglect her own health while looking after her children, husband and in-laws, make her more susceptible to the general problems of old age.

Will our women be saved?

The government, non governmental organisations and even individuals have been carrying out various initiatives around literacy, health and incentives for the family of a girl child .  But this clearly is far from enough. We need to reinforce some actions and make imaginative changes in those measures which don’t seem to be working. We also need to change social perceptions and unkind mindsets.

Attention should be focused on the states which have high maternal mortality rates,low sex ratios,high percentages of child marriage, and poor literacy levels (Jharkhand[56%] , Bihar[53%], Rajasthan[53%], UttarPradesh[59%] and Arunachal Pradesh[59%] have fairly low literacy levels for women) .The states with multiple risk factors are at greatest risk of losing their female population (some northern states fall in this category) and  should be attended to on an urgent basis.

Female infanticide should be taken seriously as a crime and concrete arrests made. Recently, there were arrests in the capital of those parents who had fraudulently tried to secure admissions for their children into universities. Surely, killing also merits parental arrest. When a death is reported from a particular area ,the village must be also put under surveillance. Awareness and counselling programmes should be undertaken to prevent more such deaths.  This could be the responsibility of the district collector.

Alongside, the danger to girl babies must be removed by taking measures to ensure that girl children are not seen as a ‘burden’. Dowry should be abolished on a war-footing. Propective brides and grooms should give written undertakingsthat they are not indulging in monetary transactions before they are bestowed with a legal marriage licence.Generous incentives should be provided to the family who has a girl child. It should be ensured that all girl children are highly literate and employed. Thousands more scholarships should be instituted for girls’ education especially in the vulnerable states.

The child marriage act has not been enforced at all and convictions are unheard of. The current punishment of three months in jail is not meaningful.The government should instead impose a stiff economic penalty on people defaulting. This should be divided and borne equally by the concerned girl and boy’s parents. Apart from the deterrent value,the government would also earn revenues which could be used for more schools for girls and their overall welfare.

Basic health care and good transpot facilities should be provided so that all women have access to at least one good hospital within half hour distance away. The village Sarpanch should ensure that all households in the village are aware of where to go in a gynaecological emergency and should ensure that some means of transport is available.  Iron and folate tablets should be distributed in an organised manner just the way Anti-Tubercular and Anti-AIDS  drugs are being distributed - perhaps the same channels can be used.

We need to bring about a social change in the way marriage is perceived. Currently, too much importance is given to marriage and it dominates many aspects of our lives. In some cases, the growing up years seem to be little else than a preparation for the inevitable marriage. We should ensure that childhood is a rich and multidimensional experience for our children. There should be counselling  in schools about not thinking about marriage during the formative years. Children should be encouraged to develop their talents and personalities, not to attract a good mate but to realise their own highest potential. Marriage should merely be one of the many aspects of a person’s life. It should not be a social stigma if people choose not to get married and prefer to just remain bachelors. People should neither pity (nor for that matter envy) those who choose to remain single.

At an individul level, each citizen must be aware of these issues and try and help in any small way possible. This could include educating a girl child or counselling a known family not to marry off their girl children early and helping them arrange a vocation for the girl instead. Parents should hesitate to offer their daughters in marriage to any family bringing up the topic of money. This can only lead to grief later. All parents must sensitize their sons and daughters to these matters at an appropriate age. Equality of the sexes should be stringently emphasized and practised in our daily lives. Parents should take greater responsibility in ensuring the safety of their girls and not sending them to cities to work unless they are absolutely certain of the credentials of the accompanying escort.

 Women should be empowered at the school, family and social level in every way possible. An example should be set at the highest level by tabling and passing the women’s representation bill in Parliament.

For each person who does not care about women there are many who care deeply. Such people should come forward, in thought and action to help preserve and nurture our women……

A TALE OF SALT AND SUGAR…..

                                     Once upon a time in a land right here…


By  Anjali Mehta



It all started with a promise and a series of wails. The promise was to my daughter to get her brother and her a little pet dog . However, astonishingly, getting a white pomeranian home did not result in smiles. Instead, it generated a lot of wails. Sugar, the puppy, wailed the whole night as he missed his mother and siblings and my daughter wailed the entire next day as she felt sad for Sugar. My son wailed in affirmation. Overwhelmed by the increased tear levels all around, we went and brought Sugar’s brother to our home too . Peace was restored. Somewhat. A friend asked me recently what bringing up two small pomeranians was like. My reply is that it is rather like a fairy tale. Here’s why :


The elves and the shoemaker :  This story is about a shoemaker whose work was finished by industrious elves at night. In our home too, there is tremendous nocturnal activity. However, our two little elves seem to have a different brief - instead of fabricating things, they disfigure anything they can lay their little teeth and paws on by tearing it down into its constituent parts. They are quite relentless in this mathematical pursuit of subdivision. Almost everyday we wake up  to find the room strewn with small bits of paper and little pieces of once identifiable objects. One of our daily morning chores is to see what all we can salvage from the mess and to determine if we are still financially solvent.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Sleeping beauty: A princess is woken up from her sleep by a health and life-giving kiss from a prince : Ever since our dogs have acquired the ability to jump up on the bed, we are subjected to sudden early morning kisses. I am not sure of the quality of royal kisses but the ones we get are dribbly, slurpy  and delivered by hairy jaws teeming with  germs. Though the good intentions of the little princes are never in doubt, the combination of the sight of sharp teeth and the foul breath make for an electrifying kiss, especially in the slightly defenceless state one finds oneself in the morning. We leap up wide-eyed and put  the princes down back on the floor , all the while encouraging them to save their kisses exclusively for each other.


Rapunzel :The princess used to let down her hair from the tower for the prince to climb up: This story gets enacted out when I am sleeping with my head near the edge. The dogs creep up nearby and pull at my hair by the jawfuls. The end objective is not clear here though. I am not sure if they want to climb up or just make me bald.


Beauty and the beast: Belle, the merchant’s youngest daughter is given daily gifts by the beast in an effort to win her over: I, the beast ( devoid of advantageous assets like fur and whiskers, what else could I hope to be ? ) find small gifts near my pillow when I wake up in the mornings. One day the little beauties left some soft coir they had pulled from the mattress near my pillow. When my hand sleepily felt it , I naturally assumed it was my hair and imagine my horror when I discovered it was not connected to my head! I put on the bedside lamp and the horror intensified as I discovered that the colour was also different !In my not yet alert state I thought I had acquired some dreaded hair disease during the night. It took a cup of bed tea to clear the fog, identify the coir and put life back in a happier and truer perspective. Other, less alarm generating gifts have included half chewed artificial bones and filthy treasures from dustbins…..


Hansel and Gretel : The witch in this story lives in a house made of chocolate which is completely edible : Salt and Sugar suffer from the delusion that our house is edible in totality. Right from the chair, carpets, mattress to our clothes and belongings -they simply like to sample everything. All I can do is play the role of a harried witch rather than a hungry one !
    

All in all , we are in a strange and messy wonderland….with Tweedledum and Tweedledee keeping us guessing what their next scheme is going to be…..

Letter on Corruption: from the Common Man to the PM June 10 2011

Dear Dr Manmohan Singh,

You are one of the few persons we still trust, hence this letter. The matter of black money stashed abroad affects all of us citizens in one way or another. The desire to see justice done is near unanimous, with exceptions being those who actually have the ill-gotten money in overseas accounts.

Much has been written and highlighted in the media and followed with a keen interest by most. As a concerned citizen, I would like to speak out and share my thoughts on this with you.
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The two people who are seen to be leading the anti-corruption movement are Mr Anna Hazare and his able team and Baba Ramdev and his supporters. I find Mr Hazare’s work commendable in that he has actually taken concrete action (fasting and protesting peacefully) rather than just indulging in semantics. His team has a well| thought out plan on steps to be taken and have tried to proceed in a decent  ,organized yet firm, manner. They are trying to engage meaningfully with the government.

Other people have also tried to make a similar point as Mr Hazare but in a different manner. Sadly, things have degenerated into a bit of an incoherent mess. The way Baba Ramdev and the government have engaged with each other makes for a bizarre tale. Everyone is debating the legitimacy and qualification of Baba Ramdev as the frontman for the corruption campaign. He has been irresponsible in some of his proclamations and the Government in some of its behaviour.

Sir there is no doubt that the man best qualified for the job is you. Please wrest the initiative back from the Baba and reach out directly to us citizens. The Baba woukd not feel compelled to tread in your domain as he and also all of us would be secure in the knowledge that you have taken over. Baba Ramdev could go back to his area of expertise; his contribution has been immense. Never has the nation taken its breathing or health as seriously as it is doing now and a huge share of the credit for this goes to Baba Ramdev.

What we expect from you sir, are the following simple steps:

1.    Declare that you are attending to the matter of black money on a priority basis and convene an urgent meeting to formulate an action plan. Set a time target for this matter to be sorted out. Invite some eminent opposition members and non-political experts as discussants in this meeting.

2.     Outline to the public the action plan that you have now formulated.

3.    Engage meaningfully with foreign governments and Interpol on this issue. India enjoys a fair amount of clout and respect in the world . Use it.
4.    Give transparent monthly updates to the public through your press spokesman as to where the process has reached in that month.
5.    Have a respectful dialogue with Mr Anna Hazare and his team and give them a patient hearing. Try to move beyond one or two sticky issues. Realise that both sides are acting out of concern for democracy. The issue about the PM being under the purview of Lokpal stems not from a disrespect for you but a genuine fear of what will happen if an elected person with a criminal record gets your chair in future. After all, even presidents can be impeached should circumstances deteriorate. Convince or be convinced. Either way, move forward!

We are priviledged to be led by a charming, affable Prime minister with a brilliant mind. The fact that you are a good man is well established. Please sir, be a good leader too. We, the people, are with you.

                                                                                    Yours sincerely,
                                                                                   Dr Anjali Mehta, citizen

A Wartime Family Tale

Dr Anjali Mehta






Republic Day preparations bring to mind the great valour of all our soldiers. What is not remembered are the smaller but equally heroic struggles of their families left to fend for themselves while the men are at war. A superb book I read “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” highlights the trials and tribulations of war–impacted civilians in a very elegant manner. It also brings a generous dash of humour to the rather morbid subject of war. I was reminded of my mother’s delightful wartime routines during the battle of 1971 as my father fought at the frontline. Sample this:





As in all wars, accidental civilian casualties were a common occurrence. So, a safety drill had been put in place for the families stationed in towns along border areas. Whenever any siren sounded, people were to quickly run out of the house and get into pre-dug trenches in the gardens. The sirens signified that enemy aeroplanes would soon fly overhead and could wreak havoc.





The instruction, seemed easy enough to follow, but not so in my mother’s case. In fact, it often proved to be a fierce battle (amongst the backdrop of the larger one). The motley group of which she was in charge consisted of : her five year old daughter, a six month old son, her pet pug named Moti, my paternal granny and a female neighbour who lived alone.





The moment a siren sounded, my mother would first gesticulate dramatically to granny (who was hard of hearing) to get into the trench with me, and then hand us the baby. Next she would go back for her beloved Moti who would invariably be cowering under the bed. My mother would get down on all fours near the wide bed and make attempts to swoop on Moti from different positions much like a snooker player seeking the right angle to pot a ball. This ‘ball’ however, not being inert, retreated to the farthest corner and so proved difficult to ‘pot’. All through this game, Moti, anticipating his inevitable capture, would keep up a furious barking. As if on cue, the baby would also start wailing loudly from outside. The siren, the dog and the baby formed a loud, discordant and deafening battle orchestra. By the time the portly Moti was hauled out by my mother, it was difficult to determine whether victor or vanquished was more physically exhausted. My granny, being hard of hearing, smiled serenely through all this cacophony!





Now the second part of the saga would begin. The neighbour would refuse to get into the trench with Moti citing reasons of discomfort at having to share a small intimate space with a hairy beast with bad breath. Having barely recovered from the physical labours of hauling the portly and wriggling Moti, my mother had now to engage in mental war games. Her tactics included oscillating rapidly between cajoling and threats. She hoped a judicious balance of the two would get the lady into the trench. The neighbour, however, would take her time weighing the risk- to-benefit ratio before reluctantly and cautiously sliding into the corner farthest from Moti. My mother would sigh in relief that her life had not been cut short by a non-dog-loving neighbour’s indecision.



After finally shepherding the entire group safely into the designated pit my tired mother would wonder if this is what ‘field exercises’ and ‘war games’ meant.



It is not difficult to guess which “warrior” was the keenest that the war should end real soon!