August 29, 2010

No Words

I wasn't sure if I should post this. Honestly, I was going to post something cute that I found on another blog, but then I found this and it ruined my day. And while I don't want to ruin everyone else's day, I also think it's important to realize that, while we here on this side of the world like to think that the feminists won and everything's equal and great, elsewhere in the world, girls are still so undervalued that their lives are often forfeit for the family's gain - sometimes in things like child marriages, and sometimes in terrible, terrible instances like this one.

A couple in a poverty-stricken district of India sacrificed their daughter in a ritual that they were told would make them rich.

Her name was Kanna, and she was four years old.

2 comments:

Jennifer Casey said...

Oh Katie, what a sad story. I agree with you- we take our lives and freedoms for granted. I can't imagine parents who wouldn't sacrifice FOR their children.

Pat said...

Tragic. Tantric has a very different status in India, somewhere around conman. We have "honour" killings even in the UK. Albinos are killed for their body parts for use in rituals in some parts of Africa.

Take some heart from the work of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations. Two articles about them appear in this same newspaper.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/3255/snippets.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/20605/tablets-cure-ah1n1-influenza.html

When a famous tantrik claimed on live TV that he could kill anyone by magic in three minutes Sanal Edamaruku challenged him to do it there and then. Two hours later the show was extended in a special so people could watch the godman make an arse of himself. Read the saintly Sanal's own account: http://www.indianrationalists.blogspot.com/