Drugged or Neck-Swept: 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.

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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