Few days ago, while watching TV, I saw a footage that shook my soul. The news channel’s camera was panning on a well in Chandigarh(Punjab) where 35 female foetuses were found disposed. I put my dinner away. There was no way I could have eaten after seeing that. A nurse has believed to state openly that during her 2 months work period at the hospital that she was working for, near about 13 female children were killed inside their mother’s womb.

No wonder that the male-female ratio in Punjab is the lowest in the nation with just 500 girls in comparison to 1000 boys. And no wonder our society is plagued by the crime against women. Was it a joke that the city where the foetuses were found, is named after the Goddess of power, “Chandi”!

Switching the TV off, I went to my balcony and just sat there without switching on any lights. My mind refused to forget those pictures. What kind of people, be it the father or the mother, kill their own child? I used to feel that nothing could hurt me when my dad used to pick me up in his lap. He was my hero. The ultimate protector. It never came in my mind that he was a frail man with diabetes who was only 5’3” tall. For me he was the strongest man. My mother was a homely woman who never had any education. Her face was always behind a purdah, but I knew, if it came to her kids, me or my sister, she would fight the world to save us.

Just to imagine that people like them, regular people, can actually become so “weak” by the social stigmas and the pressure of arranging dowry, that they can kill their babies even before it had a chance to say “papa” or “maa”! Giggle upon seeing her mother and hold the finger of her father in her tiny fist. Wasn’t the mother’s womb the safest place in the whole universe?

I don’t have babies yet. But I if I ever have a child, if I ever have a daughter, I will give her all the chances at life, at living. And if I am unable to afford a decent marriage for her, she will live with me like a son would. What is wrong if she remains unmarried? And what is wrong if she chooses to marry someone of her own choice? A man who would cherish her for what she is and not how much money her parents can shell out. The monster of dowry can be tackled to a big extent if we came out of the shell of cast and class and let our children breath! Breath in the fresh air!

Lets take an oath today to protect our kids. Always! If we can’t, then we have no right to even think about being a parent.