There are many countries in the world where male babies are coveted, and female offspring are often unwanted and abandoned or even killed. One such country where this tradition lasts is India, where for every 1,000 males there are only 914 females. Unfortunately, female infants are quite commonly abandoned and left to die. But not everyone sees female children as inferior.
One such incident took place in the city of Gujarat, where a passerby discovered an abandoned female infant left for dead in a prickly bush by the side of the road.
She was covered in scratches and abandoned because her parents had wanted a son, and most likely considered her a curse and a burden. The passerby had heard her cries. He immediately called emergency service and the baby girl was taken to the hospital.
The hospital staff were able to tend to the baby’s wounds, clean her up and feed her. Now they just need to find her a good home, one accepting of a female child.
Doctors said that she would have died if she had not been found. So many female infants are not so lucky. UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) says that there is a 50 million girl and women shortage in India’s population because of infanticide and sex selective abortions. Many have blamed India’s dowry system, whereby parents must pay a large sum to the family of their daughter’s new groom, for the practice of female infanticide. Although illegal in India, it is often unreported or under-reported.
In 1992, India’s government enacted what was called the “baby cradle scheme,” which allowed people to anonymously drop off infants for adoption, though no one is sure how effective the program has been.
Thnakfully this time a good samaritan was there to rescue the abandoned little girl, and some nonprofit organizations have started project to fight infanticide and to spread awareness through countries like India.
