Krishnagiri: Life is not easy for girls born in Krishnagiri district where boys are considered as prized. The pressure on women to give birth to male children is terrifying and mothers who deliver female child are branded as the ‘cursed one’.
Most unfortunate women have either been forced to kill their child or hand over them in the custody of the elderly person known to be practicing infanticide.
The situation has now improved according to the 2011 census, which shows a better sex ration, 955 girls for every 1,000 child population in rural areas and the number in urban places have been recorded as 967.
However, their rights for education have been deprived for many reasons including on grounds of safety; sending to faraway places to continue education after completing their studies in the local government school is still no-no.
“It may be the case of other villages, but not in our Manjukondapalli. For the first time since independence, few of our girls get freedom of education” Sowmiya of this village told DC.
The 14-year-old class nine student of a government school at Denkannikottai and daughter of the poor farmer C. Chennamudi (36), added “Infrastructure facility of our village has not changed but there is improvement in the status of the girl child.”
“Unwed girls are allowed to move out of our village and stay in hostel for us at Denkannikottai. The changes came due to the intervention of the Ashok Leyland staff who admitted us to class nine at Denkannikottai school after our education in the local village school having classes from one to eighth standard,” Sowmiya said as thanks giving to the corporate which runs CSR(corporate social responsibility) programme, especially for the welfare of the poor school going children.
Ms A Munivenkatamma (50) of Belpatti village in the Manjukondapalli panchayat said, “our village custom forbidding unwed girls from staying in the custody of outsiders is the old story. Now we have changed and send them to stay in the hostel for education.”
“We altered our unwanted custom after the Ashok Leyland staff assured the safety of our girls sent to stay in the hostel facility run by the government and from where they are able to pursue higher secondary education and more,” Munivenkatamma said.
