http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Infanticides-Come-Back-to-Haunt-State/2014/01/12/article1996031.ece
This article discusses two recent incidences of female infanticide in the state Tamil Nadu. In the first, a ninth month old baby girl was strangled to death with a rope by her mother, Punitha. Punitha and her husband Varadharaj had had one son and two daughters. Apparently Punitha, who wanted another son, strangled her daughter when her husband was away and claimed that she had died of fever. Her husband grew suspicious of this story and the a postmortem of the baby revealed that she had been strangled and her neck had been broken. In another instance of female infanticide in the area, the body of a baby girl was found in a river within the same area. The mouth and nose of the baby were plastered, indicating that someone had killed her and thrown her into the river. An inquiry is being conducted in order to determine who committed the murder. Meanwhile, the district is taking action against the female infanticide problem through a project known as the "cradle baby scheme." Parents who are considering infanticide are asked to turn their children into the district. Officials assert that it is better to give up the baby than to kill it--these children will be cared for in foster homes or elsewhere. Within the last year, 1, 395 babies were taken in by the district.
1) Do you believe the "cradle baby scheme" is an effective way of reducing the instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Or is it an ineffectual short term solution to the problem?
2) What is the root cause of the high instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Why is it so much more prevalent in this state even though literacy rates are reasonably high?
3) What solution do you propose to solving the problem of female infanticide in India?
This article discusses two recent incidences of female infanticide in the state Tamil Nadu. In the first, a ninth month old baby girl was strangled to death with a rope by her mother, Punitha. Punitha and her husband Varadharaj had had one son and two daughters. Apparently Punitha, who wanted another son, strangled her daughter when her husband was away and claimed that she had died of fever. Her husband grew suspicious of this story and the a postmortem of the baby revealed that she had been strangled and her neck had been broken. In another instance of female infanticide in the area, the body of a baby girl was found in a river within the same area. The mouth and nose of the baby were plastered, indicating that someone had killed her and thrown her into the river. An inquiry is being conducted in order to determine who committed the murder. Meanwhile, the district is taking action against the female infanticide problem through a project known as the "cradle baby scheme." Parents who are considering infanticide are asked to turn their children into the district. Officials assert that it is better to give up the baby than to kill it--these children will be cared for in foster homes or elsewhere. Within the last year, 1, 395 babies were taken in by the district.
1) Do you believe the "cradle baby scheme" is an effective way of reducing the instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Or is it an ineffectual short term solution to the problem?
2) What is the root cause of the high instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Why is it so much more prevalent in this state even though literacy rates are reasonably high?
3) What solution do you propose to solving the problem of female infanticide in India?
1) Do you believe the "cradle baby scheme" is an effective way of reducing the instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Or is it an ineffectual short term solution to the problem?
ReplyDeleteThe cradle baby scheme is definitely an effective way of reducing the occurrence of female infanticide because parents are given another option if they do not wish to keep their baby girls. I wouldn't say it is an ineffectual short term solution, but it is only a short term solution. It's almost an obvious case that relates to the Babies in the River story. Instead of changing the people's mindsets through education, the government has implemented a work of mercy by taking the babies in. Basically, they are collecting the babies along the river bank, rather than finding the source of the river to find where the babies are coming from and why they are coming down the river. The overall plan is effective because many lives will be saved, but there will also be many children left abandoned because there aren't enough families that want to take them in. Plus, all those children would grow up with the difficulties of being adoptive or foster children.