Fri. Nov 15th, 2024

Drugged or Neck-Swept: Midwives Killed Newborn Girls in India

Drugged or wrung out: midwives killed newborn girls in India

Photo: pixabay.com

Midwives who worked in India, despite terrible pressure from families, saved several newborn girls who were at risk of becoming victims of infanticide.

Veteran midwife Siro Devi meets with 20-year-old Monica Tetteh, whom she saved at birth.

Despite the ban on infanticide in India, this practice remained very widespread for quite a long time. The murder of newborn girls was linked to an ancient dowry tradition, BBC Ukraine reports.

The families of brides were expected to give large sums of money, jewelry and other valuables to the groom's family during the wedding. For many families, especially the poor, the dowry was an unbearable financial burden.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Therefore, the birth of a girl child was considered a disaster, and parents forced village midwives to kill them through chemical poisoning, neck twisting and strangulation.

Sometimes children were simply abandoned in dangerous places where they could not survive.

For the sake of life

However, changes began in the 1990s, when social worker Anila Kumari began supporting midwives who refused to participate in such crimes.

Monica, who was saved by Siro and Anila, expressed gratitude to the women for her life. Her story is evidence of changes in society, although issues related to sex-selective abortions are still relevant.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116

Related Post