Over the last several months time and time again I am asked if the problem with the killing of girl babies is just isolated to rural, poor and illiterate Indian families. I think it might be simply a self-defense mechanism that enables someone to “box the issue” into a belief that “they just don’t know any better.” Unfortunately, poverty and illiteracy are only two of the many factors that leads to the devaluing of the life of an Indian girl.

Last week I was talking to a good friend that is expecting her second child and she shared that you cannot identify the sex of a fetus by ultrasound until at least the 20th week of a pregnancy. Even though it is illegal in India to identify the sex of the fetus via an ultrasound it is a common practice throughout India.

The following article is of one such story.

Fighting to Save Her Daughters’ Lives
August 24, 2010

While researching female foeticide and infanticide in India we discovered an amazing story of one woman’s battle to prevent her twin girls from joining the growing number of statistics of girls killed before birth in India.

Mitu married Dr Kamal Khurana, an orthopedic doctor in Delhi, in November 2004. It was an arranged match and, though engaged for nine months, they had hardly met. When she found she was pregnant in January 2005, her husband was elated. An ultrasound at six weeks indicated she was carrying twins. But soon, her mother-in-law began pressuring her to take a sex-determination test. Her refusal was the beginning of a story one might only expect in movies, but one all too common in India.

In a scheme to get Mitu to a hospital for a sex-determination ultrasound, her in-laws fed her cake with eggs, knowing she was allergic. She became very sick and they had the opportunity they had been looking for. Under the guise of an KUB (kidney, urethra and bladder) ultrasound, the radiologist discovered the twins were girls and a campaign to convince Mitu to terminate the pregnancy began.

What followed was an all out war against Mitu and her unborn twin girls that included isolation, starvation and abuse of all kinds.

Around the fourth month, my husband pushed me down a flight of stairs. I started bleeding and was locked in a room. They hoped I’d abort naturally. I managed to call my father in the morning, who told my husband to bring me to their place or he would get the police to do it. My husband gave in. I was prescribed complete bed rest and had to undergo multiple hospitalisations. My daughters were born on August 11, nearly two months premature.

Her husband and relatives did not visit for nine months, and when they finally did, it was to convince her to give up at least one of the girls for adoption. After a time, Mitu’s husband enticed her back home, only to file for divorce after her mother-in-law pushed one of the girls down a flight of stairs in her stroller.

With the support of her parents and others like Bijayalaxmi Nanda of the Campaign Against Pre-Birth Elimination of Females (CAPF), and organizations like the Centre for Social Research, Dr. Mitu Khurana became the first woman to file formal charges against her husband under the Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994.

I get threats saying I’ll be killed or my daughters kidnapped. I had to quit my job because of the pressure. But I will not withdraw the case! I fought to save my girls and I’m the first woman in Delhi to have filed a case under PCPNDT. I’m determined to see justice meted out.

Sonali Khan, communications manager, Breakthrough, Delhi, said, “It’s not going to be easy for Mitu. She is taking on a big hospital, apart from her husband and in-laws. Every hospital has a huge sign against sex determination tests, which means we can’t ask for it and they are bound not to tell us. It is a punishable offence.”

The Shadowline team had an opportunity to meet with Mitu and interview her along with other key players in this landmark case. We will continue to follow the case as we hope for justice for Mitu and her daughters, and, through her, all the women and unborn daughters victimized by female foeticide in India.

India bound on Thursday. We are working with Aroma Ministries in southern India near Madurai. The families in this village practice female infanticide. Each year 35 to 45 girl babies are not given the chance to live. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident and occurs village after village to approximately 1.5 million each year!

When I think of the magnitude of this issue I think back to when President Kennedy challenged not only the nation but each of us when he shared his vision to have an American be the first to step on the moon. To a young boy this was exciting to dream about but could it even be possible? Then, several years later I remember watching a fuzzy, black and white image of Neil Armstrong taking a step on the moon and uttering these words “One Small Step for Man… One Giant Step for Mankind!”

Two years ago when I first was confronted with the magnitude of this problem I had no clue how to even begin. Then it happened.

1. We visited this village, named a newborn baby girl (Rhema) and celebrated her birth with a small financial gift (about $8).
2. We emersed ourselves into learning more.
3. We partnered with people who knew more and had a closer connection (Aroma Ministries).
4. We determined the best next step was to drill a well and fix a school.
5. We told others. They gave.
6. The day the well was being drilled two baby girls were born. The parents did not know why but felt compelled not to kill their daughters even though they believed they did not have the means to care for them.
7. They brought the girls to the workers who called the pastor that was overseeing the work. Foster homes were found.
8. We know this village must “own” and partner if we have any hope in changing its culture. Micro business is a key but we have little money (micro credit) and no land or building.
9. Village President gave us a field for micro business and building for community center/medical clinic.
10. Next week I have a chance to spend 5 days in this village to celebrate the few steps we have taken and to dream about the future.

Most days I still need to squint to see if what I am seeing is real. Our dream to end female infanticide seems so far away from reality.

But just like President Kennedy believed it was possible that man could walk on the moon, I believe that someday soon no little girl’s life will end just because she was born female. She will be given the chance to live – to grow – to thrive… to one day possibly even lead her nation as India’s Ambassador to America, or maybe, the Prime Minister or President of India. Is it even possible?

Time to wake up. Time to stop dreaming and start doing. Time to take our next step.

I encourage you to follow along.

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Most of us that live in the west have a difficult time comprehending that one in five babies are aborted (usually in the third trimester) in India just because she is a girl. Add the 1.2 to 1.5 million girl babies that are killed (infanticide) in the first seven days of their lives and another 500,000 girls that do not survive the first three years of their live we have a genocide comparable to the Holocaust during WW2.

We will let others much more capable than us to continue to tell this story. We will spend our time, resources and talents driving a solution to this sad story. The solutions are fairly simple but not necessarily easy.

A good friend suggested that The Rhema Project is about helping the India girl child to Live, Grow and Thrive. That’s pretty close!

Independence Day of India is celebrated on Fifteenth of August to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947.

On Sunday, we were invited by the India Association of Indianapolis to share in their celebration at Monument Circle. Nearly 500 Indian families not only celebrated their homeland culture with dance, music and food but embraced America’s way of life.

Whether you are in a small rural village in Tamil Nadu, India or sitting on the circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indian’s are always extremely hospitable, warm and welcoming – they almost seem to will you to have an enjoyable time.

They love life. To try to understand how a culture like this also remains mostly silent on the intentional killing of over 1.5 million girl babies each year is difficult at best. But just as the Indianapolis Indian families embrace and engage in a new way our goal is to identify the trigger points that will alter the India culture so they too can see the value of these unwanted children.

And then we can all dance!
Dancing to Independence Day Music.

Photo by Dustin Maust.

A friend of mine emailed me this poem he crafted after attending our event on Friday night. David, like most people, is troubled when they first learn of the number of baby girls that loose their life in just southern India each year.

It took me over a year to process. To move from a point of hopelessness to one of hope for a better tomorrow. Personally, I think God most times needs to break our heart before we are willing to act upon the injustice we see. The challenge for many is they either do not act because they believe they can not make any difference or the “noise of daily life” just drowns out the cries of the hopeless.

The great news is that when we begin to act – take those first few steps, God opens doors of opportunity and leads the way.

HOPELESS IN INDIA

Oh mother India
Why do you cry
Is it for the baby girls
That they say they must die
Do you hear their crys
In the streets at night
Hungry and scared
Waiting to die
Those that survive
To a life with no hope
Wishing it was them
That was chosen to go
Oh God in heaven hear their pleas
Give us the means
To give these girls real dreams
A life worth living
By hearing your word
Changing their lives
With the help of us who believe
That with our help and yours
Their life can be more than
HOPELESS DREAMS

david kush

Friday night Vanakkam! and the Ricki Lake Effect bands played at The Legends of Notre Dame. Both bands donated their time so that all proceeds would go to care, educate and empower girls in southern India.

Today, we can do more because of the friends that came and listened to great music, played some games and hear part of the story. Seven more girls can now be cared for for an entire year because of the small effort on Friday night.

Thanks Vanakkam! and Ricki Lake Effect.

Focus on Faith August 1, 2010

Focus on Faith – The Rhema Project

Killing a baby simply because they were born a girl is an unthinkable act to nearly everyone, but in India it’s something that’s happening more often. That’s where a campaign known as The Rhema Project is doing what it can to stop the act.

Killing a baby simply because they were born a girl is an unthinkable act to nearly everyone, but in India it’s something that’s happening more often. That’s where a campaign known as The Rhema Project is doing what it can to stop the act.

According to The Rhema Project, each year, the lives of more than 1.5 million girls are eliminated in India through gender identification feticide, female infanticide, and extreme gender discrimination in the first few years of life. The UN estimates 50 million women have gone missing throughout Asia over the past ten years because of the discriminatory practice.

The reason behind the practice is solely financial. In India, some families view the birth as a girl as eventually being a financial burden because of the amount of money women make compared to men.

In one emotional case, an Indian girl’s life was spared when her father was given a small financial gift worth less than $8. That girl was named Rhema by those that saved her and became the name of the campaign.

Dan Blacketor and Judy Eck, both a part of The Rhema Project appeared on 16 Sunday Morning to talk with Alana about their experiences and stories.