The India Post, CHANDIGARH- SEPTEMBER 23, 2008: Today, on 23rd September, 2008, Students and Faculty of the Department of Social Work observed the Girl Child Day at Students Centre, Panjab University , Chandigarh .
The purpose of this event was to sensitize the student’s community about the importance of girl child. The students of department of social work in a unique way enacted a street play titled Kalli (The Bud) and demonstrated with the help of placards and posters with slogans depicting “Don’t Cut the hands which will rock the cradle and rule the World”, “A girl’s theft is the most fatal of all the thefts” that how valuable the girls are for the society.
India is growing dynamically in every field. Although the boom in economy, innovative technologies and improved infrastructure has become nation’s pride yet the country is witnessing the bias against the girl child. India – the nation of mothers still follows a culture where people idealizes son and mourn daughters. Female Foeticide and Infanticide are not the only issues in India . At every stage of life she is neglected and discriminated for basic nutritution, formal / informal education and living standards. As per UN figures about 7,50,000 girls are aborted every year in India, if the practice continues, then no longer a day will come when Mother India will have no mothers, potentially, no life.
In the street play titled “Kalli” (The Bud),students tried to portray the stigma and discrimination associated with the girl child from the womb of the mother itself. Then how in her teenage, she is denied all the privileges which her brother enjoys. During her college days she is forced to get married to an elderly person simply because he is from a feudal family and enjoys high status in the society, very much contrary to her wishes of becoming a Police Officer. After her marriage she is being ridiculed by her in-laws for giving birth to a girl child.
The need of the hour is that we being proud citizens of India , must realize our responsibilities and give halt to this evil practice of killing the girls as well as showing discrimination against them. A determined drive in this direction can initiate a spark to light the lamp and show the world that we all are a part of Mother India according to Prof. Mohinderjit K. Teja, Coordinator, Dept. of Social Work, PU.