Pink Is For Girls

Letter from unborn daughter

My Dear Father,

I wish I could write this letter to you like any other daughter in this world; however, I never got a chance...For I was dead even before I could come out to your world. Yes. I am your dead daughter, who was brutally killed inside the womb by none other than you. Though dead and pitilessly abandoned from your life, my spirit still lingers here and there only to find out this vicious and inhuman nature of female foeticide.

I do remember how happy you were a few months back when you first got the news of mom being pregnant. I could hear your joyous words echoing in the womb wall. Mom was happy too. She used to fondle her belly, perhaps imagining holding and cuddling me in her arms. I was so very happy inside, eagerly waiting to come out and be with you both.

The day you got to know about my impending arrival, you asked if I was a boy. I heard mom retorting, saying I was a girl. You didn't sound happy that day. And while you kept muttering about your wish to have a boy child, I was burdened with grief. Inside that dark womb, I thrived in a cluttered state of joy and grief not knowing how to make you love me.
Months passed by and I grew inside mom; witnessing all her pain to bear me inside her, all the hassles she went through to give me proper growth. She never complained when I moved inside when I kicked on her tummy; rather she was happy, always talking to me. Then one day you took mom to a doctor. I overheard about you spending some fifty thousand rupees for detecting my gender. I didn't know what to do. Mom was taken near a machine; something they called...Ultrasound. I could see myself on a screen and mom was too happy. But you were not. You stood at the corner, silent and perhaps muttering a prayer or so. The doctor declared "PINK" (some doctors speak in code language, if it is girl they say pink, for boys it's blue) and from that very moment, my life changed.

That night, over dinner you proposed an abortion to my mother. She was shocked. Even more shocking was your justification. Do you remember your words dad? We have a big house and so much property. A girl will grow up and get married and leave the house; who will take care of us in old age? To carry forward our family legacy, we need a boy, not a girl.
Mom failed to understand you and so did I. She never had a problem in raising a girl child. That night, she did argue, did raise her voice against your whims but you shut her up...with your male chauvinism...your male ego. You not only shut her mouth but also shut your senses towards the life-threatening complexities caused by an abortion. In a matter of time, tired of all the bickering mom bowed to your demands.

I felt bad for mom, even doctor had not communicated to her regarding abortion. Dad had already spoken to doctor about my abortion. Then villain doctor had given an injection to mom and she became unconscious.
When she regained consciousness, I was dead.

You spent fifty thousand to abandon me and then every day you sit at home worshipping goddess Lakshmi; Ridiculous, isn't it? You cannot respect the woman in your life, you fail to welcome a daughter in your life and then you pray to a woman god to get you a boy child. I am dead indeed, yet I am laughing at you.
Inside the womb, I had nothing to do except dreaming. I had imagined you as a loving father, caring for my well being, however, reality struck me hard. Bearing a girl child is not a sin. Being a girl is not a sin. But I think, in a world where the god-like doctors play the villain's role in female foeticide, it is the gravest sin to be a girl.

Lastly, I hope you get a boy child soon and spare my mother from the trauma of aborting a life.

Much love,
Your Dead Daughter

*****

Quotes by ARPAN

"A woman is honoured as Physician,
A woman is honoured as politician,
A woman is honoured as teacher,
A woman is honoured as lawyer,
A woman is even worshipped as goddess,
Then why deny that goddess's gift in form of daughter?"

"Let the fortune come within your life,
Let the vivacity come within your life,
Let the prosperity come within your life,
Let the moments of rejoicing come within your life,
Let the goddess's blessing come within your life,
Let the baby girl come within your life."

"If you want to kill then kill your arrogancy,
If you want to kill then kill your jealousy,
Kill the anxiety in you; Kill the negativity in you,
But don't kill the daughters,
They may fill alacrity in you."

"It may not be your associate's hand to hold you,
It may not be your servant's hand to hold you,
Your brother may not hold you, your co-worker may not hold you,
A mother will hold you at your young age,
And a daughter will hold you at your old age."

"Be a grand-father of a grand-daughter,
Be a grand-mother of a grand-daughter,
Be a brother of a sister,
Be a mother of a daughter,
Be a father of a daughter,
Never be killer of a daughter."

"If a woman can be welcomed to cook for us,
If a woman can be welcomed to look after us,
If a woman can be welcomed to work at our houses,
If a woman can be welcomed to rule on our hearts,
If a woman can be welcomed as pedestal of our families,
Then why?
Why can't the innocent soul of a daughter be welcomed in our lives?"

-ARPAN R. PATEL

WHY?

Why even in 21st century India, girls are considered a stroke of rotten luck?

The killing of a girl child inside the womb is very common, though illegal. If we want to kill something, we must kill those negative thoughts. Girls are a blessing in disguise; never stop it from coming to you.