Nakoshis – The Unwanted!

Apart from those are living in so-called high society, we Indian still love everything in a traditional way.  We are also vary proud about the rich tradition that we have but there are some shocking one too. One of such is discrimination towards girl child. It is an age old practice in India where people pray to the various Goddess but while going family way every one want a boy.  

Owing to a “tradition” that reflects gender bias, several parents in Satara (Maharashtra) have named their third or fourth daughter Nakoshi, in the hope that the next child will be a boy. They all got rid of the name ‘Nakoshi', which means unwanted in Marathi. However, in a region where gender bias only starts with the name, and the parents think of daughters as a burden, there is a possibility that the change will only be restricted to the renaming ritual, and not reflect in the actual change in mindset. In a bid to undo the damage, and spread awareness about protecting the girl child, the district administration organised a public event to rename and honour the girls. 

The process to identify “Nakoshis” in the State was initiated by Ahmednagar-based activist Sudha Kankria who first noticed the trend in 2007.  In a recent ceremony all girls from Satara got rid of the name “Nakoshi” meaning unwanted in Marathi, and hopefully, the humiliation that came with it. 

Nakoshi Kirdat has a similar story to tell. She had her name changed to Neeta when she got married at 18. However, she remained “Nakoshi” on paper. “I was sent to school only till tenth class, as my parents didn't have money to educate me. But I always wanted to do something important, and gain respect. I have accepted the fact that my parents didn't want me when I was born, but I didn't want to give up on myself,” she states, with the faith that the new name will also give her a new identity. 

Discrimanation against girl child and women

About 500000 foetuses aborted every year only because they are female. Preference for the son in India is a well-documented phenomenon. Bias society neglect the girls and women resulting in their early death, female infanticide, and female foeticide.

Most Indian still maintain the ridiculous theory - “Raising a girl is like watering the neighbour’s garden” generally sums up the way girls in India are seen - as an economic burden on their parents.

The tragic tell of a mother shows how everyday scores of girls child killed andd al are of the records - "I lay on my bed weak after childbirth. My mother-in-law picked up the baby and started feeding her milk. I knew what she was doing. I cried and tried to stop her. But she had already given her milk laced with poisonous juice of the oleander plant. Within minutes, the baby turned blue and died".

Due to technological progress, techniques for preconceptual and prenatal sex determination become cheaper and more accurate; at the same time, the general income level rises. Thus, these methods become more and more affordable for the middle and lower class, providing people the opportunity to act according to their reproductive preferences.

The child sex ratio will gradually increase over the next decades; however, irreparable damage has already been done, not only to the countless girls who were deprived of their natural right of life, but also to society as a whole.

In 1992 Amartya Sen calculated that 37 million women were ‘missing’ in India . The UN in 2001 estimated that there were 44 million missing women in India.

!!!Don’t you relise that you are here because your mother was a woman?!!!