Happy Women’s day….to all the women obviously…and to all the men who understand the therapeutic effects women have on us….whether it is sleeping on your mom’s lap, or hugging the woman you love for that ten extra seconds, or running to your best friend cuz only she can understand you the way others can’t, or a sister who while growing up shared a love/hate relationship with you, but she’s the reason you grew up to be who you are….only a woman can make you feel this way.
Don’t get me wrong…these are not justifications or reasons as to why you women are special. You are special, everyday.
We, at Hungry Hogs love women, and this is our tribute/testimonial to all the women who have stood behind us, acknowledging us when we do well, support us when things aren’t working out, chide us when we’re slacking off, celebrate our milestones with us, and love us no matter what.
RESPECT
Having said that, we do wanna bring to your notice a matter that requires more attention, but in a country troubled with bad governance/corruption/unemployment/security threats… this has a taken a back seat.
We’re talking about Female infanticide…wait..that word sounds too subtle…killing girls…murdering girl fetuses or killing them after they’re born, this inhuman practice has been occurring in India(and China too) for centuries now. Yet the only time this even makes the front pages is every ten years during the census. Talking about the Census let’s go over some of the facts from the 2011 Census.
Ø National Average Female:Male in 2011 is 940. That is there are 940 women per 1000 men.
Ø The most alarming figure to come out of the census 2011 report, however, is the child sex ratio, ratio of girls to boys in the age group 0-6. This ratio stands at 914.... 914 girls per 1000 boys.
Ø This figure is the lowest since independence, and has a shown a steady decline over the past 4 decades,from 962 in 1981 to 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 to 914 in 2011.
These figures not only the grave injustice done to girl fetuses, or new born baby girls, it’s also shocking to know that girls are being killed by denying them medical treatment.
The most common ways of killing a baby is to wrap a wet towel around the head to induce pneumonia and then refuse to take the baby to a doctor or a hospital, so when finally the baby does die it dies of natural causes. Another common way is to give the baby a couple of drops of alcohol to induce diarhhea.
Consider the following figures
Ø A 2007 report by UNICEF states that girls under 5 have a mortality rate 40% higher than boys in the same age group
Ø A 2011 report by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Harvard School of Public health reports that infant girls,1 year and younger are 50% more likely than boys to die by violence.
Ø The rate of death of girls in the group 1 month-5 years, due to pneumonia and Diarhhea is 4 times that of boys
The worst part is the people who are doing it don’t realize that it’s wrong, they consider themselves to be a doing the girl a favor by not letting her live what they believe, would be a horrid, miserable life. Despite measures by the Government, Poverty and Dowry are used as excuses for their behavior.
If we were to go by Economic prosperity, Let’s see how India compares with developed countries as well as countries whose economy is on par or below par with ours.
USA- 97 males per 100 females
Russia- 86 males per 100 females
France- 95 males per 100 females
Israel-98 males per 100 females
On the other hand,
South Africa- 97 males per 100 females
Sudan- 101 males per 100 females
Rwanda- 94 males per 100 females
Malaysia- 103 males per 100 females
And India- 107 males per 100 females, the world average being 102.
The numbers speak for themselves. What we’ve come down to is this, A country which worships Goddesses, With thousands of books written thousands of years ago, portaying women as creatures of grace, A certain building in Agra, built by a husband for his wife, standing as a monument of love, to a country which kills girls, and a country which watches others do it and not be affected by it.
However, there is a way we can make a difference. In 1986, Dr.Amartya Sen calculated that 37 million women were missing from the Indian population.Women who should've been part of the population,but weren't accounted for. Now that figure has escalated to 50 million.
So, from all of us, Sign the petition below, and show your support to this cause.
It doesn’t even take a minute.
So this women’s day, show that you appreciate. Not just by signing the petition, but
Actually let the women in your life know how much they mean to you. And we’re not talking about a grand gesture, or a small subtle hint…..It can be both and everything in between. And the women reading this, Celebrate, not just today, but everyday…and smile…there’s very few things in life which are more beautiful.
