Source / Courtesy: BBC online
And when people are brought together, and when the girl-child buried alive is questioned about, ‘For what crime was she killed?’ (Al Quran 81:8-10)
More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean “unwanted” in Hindi have been given a fresh start at a mass renaming ceremony in Maharashtra state.
They had been called Nakusha by parents who would have preferred sons.
Hundreds of people committed to fighting gender discrimination attended the ceremony in rural Satara district.
Statistics show a continuing preference for boys in India. The gender imbalance has widened every decade since independence in 1947.
According to the 2011 census, there were 914 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of six, compared with 927 for every 1,000 boys in the 2001 census.
Female foeticide remains common in India, although sex-selective abortion based on ultrasound scans is illegal. Sons are still seen by many as wage-earners for the future.
Editor’s comments: Chapter 81, Sura Takwir of the Holy Quran has several prophecies that are being fulfilled in our times.
Categories: India