http://www.radianceweekly.com/184/4641/female-foeticide-a-curse-of-society/2009-12-27/cover-story/story-detail/strike-a-balance-between-body-and-soul.html
Since time immemorial,
women have been looked down upon and treated inferior in principle and
practice. While one religion considers woman as an instrument of the devil, the
other holds the birth of a son essential. The nature of atrocities committed
against women varies from time to time and place to place. The news of baby
girls being buried alive was common to hear, historically. In this hi-tech era,
we have grown up with new ideas. Female infanticide is changed into female
foeticide. This is jahiliyyah
revisited.
Selective abortion of
a female fetus
is causing a dip in sex ratio at an alarming pace. As a result, between 35 and
40 million girls and women are missing from the Indian population. In some
parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than
800:1,000. As females drop in number in a society, society gets destabilized. The United Nations has expressed
serious concern about the situation.
The following reasons
are attributed to this practice:
The desire for a son,
for instance, is deep-rooted in both rural and urban areas. The son is the
bread earner in the family, looks after parents in their old age and for all
other social security reasons. The problem of dowry has contributed immensely
to this malady. The arrangement of dowry for girl children exerts considerable
economic pressure on families to avoid having girls, who are seen as a liability.
The question arises if
these reasons are enough to turn on human beings so cruel and brutal …?
In this write-up, I
wish to make you see things from a different perspective.
Remember the Roman
civilization. Slaves were burnt alive to entertain guests, and the later
enjoyed dinner in the light of burning. When a riot breaks out, one group of
people becomes so wild and ruthless that it, without scruple, goes on attacking
and butchering another group of people for no valid reasons. And in day to day
life you can see people relishing bullfighting, wrestling and so on in their
sitting rooms. I have quoted these incidents to remind you that human beings
are born with some amount of love for violence and evil ingrained. And when I
remember the great souls who sacrificed their lives for others, it reminds me
of great virtues Allah bestowed us with. The point here is that human beings
are the blend of two opposite qualities – virtue and evil.
We have two very
instrumental forces shaping our thoughts and lives. Materialism and
Spiritualism. Materialism is the belief that money, possessions and physical
comforts are more important than spiritual values. Spiritualism has to do with
religious and ethical values. Two forces; forces of evil and virtue inside and
forces of materialism and spiritualism outside are part and parcel of our
lives. Unless we learn to subjugate the potential of violence and to promote
the potential of virtue, to strike a balance between materialism and
spiritualism, we cannot imagine our lives to be peaceful and prosperous.
Female foeticide is an
example of the manifestation of the ingrained
love of violence and result of our untamed sheer materialistic outlook towards
life.
Here, I wish to offer
two-fold suggestions to fight against this cruel, immoral and inhuman practice
carried out by so-called civilized and educated persons.
This practice of
female foeticide is far stronger in urban than in rural areas, and more among
the literate than the illiterate. It does explode the myth that growing
affluence and spread of basic education can help erode gender bias. So, where
lies the lacuna?
Syllabi have ever been
an important facet of education. Today, our education system is lopsided. Our
entire focus has been on professional and vocational training, leaving no space
for moral or spiritual teaching. Our immediate need is to make our education
value-based.
We need to have a
shift in our attitude, especially in our youth. I would like to mention here a
small but important incident from my hometown, a small place. Prof. C.P. Singh,
working at a local college, is against
all social evils in precept and practice. Once he told me how he made a number
of students swear, on an occasion, never to take dowry in their marriages.
Teachers, professors, and philanthropists can be role models for a large group
of people.
Stage activists can
help the mass realize the brutality of
this crime through street-plays and theaters.
Celebrities can play
an instrumental role in advocacy against such practices using print and
electronic media.
Doctors, nurses and
all others associated with this profession must be given moral lessons through
seminars or symposiums, helping them realize
this evil practice and the potential role they could play in the erosion of it.
Males should pick up
the courage to fight against any kith and
kin who comes out with the nefarious idea of aborting the female fetus.
NGOs can play a very
important role. In addition to launching a campaign against it, they can also organize groups of people who can exert social
pressure on anyone who goes for female foeticide.
Another part of my
suggestion is based on the teachings of the Qur'an and sayings of Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him). One may find this part of my
suggestion applicable to Muslims only, but I say, the Qur'an is not only for Muslims but for humankind. In many places, the
Qur'an addresses us as ‘O Human beings’.
Islam not only
prohibits female infanticide, but it forbids all types of infanticide,
irrespective of whether the infant is a male or female.
“Kill not your
children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for
you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.” Surah Al-Isra Chapter
17, Verse 31 (17:31).
The Qur'an regards the
murder of a single soul as the murder of
the whole humanity. Islam not only prohibits female infanticide but also
rebukes the thought of rejoicing on the news of the birth of a male child and not rejoicing on the news of the birth of
a female child. In Islam, the girl
child is entitled to equal love and affection, support and upbringing and good
treatment. There should be no partiality in bringing up of sons and daughters.
According to the
saying of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him), “Whoever brings up
two daughters properly and treats them kindly and justly shall enter paradise.”
Prophet Muhammad (may
Allah bless and greet him) always spoke about justice and kindness towards a
child whether it be a daughter or a son. Once a person in the presence of
Prophet Muhammad kissed his son and put him on his lap and did not do the same
for his daughter who was with him. The Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him)
objected and told the man that he was being unjust and that he should have also
kissed his daughter and placed her on the other lap. The Prophet (may Allah
bless and greet him) not only preached about equal justice to sons and
daughters but also practiced it himself.
Let me move a step
further. The slogan of freedom made us
resist any kind of restraint, especially religious. Many societies have removed
both God and religion from their lives. What happens after death or what is the
purpose of life, is not an issue to them. Therefore, if this is the only life,
why not make hay while the sun shines. But, despite all material gain, one is
restless. The USA, which has made the greatest materialistic progress and has
given its citizens numerous rights, almost 60 per cent of the population
consult psychiatrists. Sweden and Switzerland that provide utmost welfare to
their citizens have the highest suicide rates. So, what makes one restless and
leads to suicide? The answer is that man is not necessarily content with
material well-being and needs something more.
We must not forget that
our existence is based on body and soul. There must be a balance between the
two. What feeds the human soul is religion and not science. In the absence of
religion, immorality progresses rapidly. We are witness to it. In addition to
inhuman practices like female foeticide, gay marriages, racism etc, the
greatest loss of modern generation is the loss of ‘family life’. In the UK, the
divorce rate is 60 per cent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 percent single mothers. We can imagine the
disastrous impact of such families on the emotional development of children.
But unfortunately,
there is no study of the human soul in modern psychology. While we have made a
lot of progress giving much comfort to our body, we have neglected the need of
our soul like anything. It is high time we realized
the importance of religion in our lives, the only source that can give us peace
of mind and food to our soul. Without maintaining the balance between the
requirements of body and soul, we can’t grow as a civilized society.
