In India, the sound of women banging their thalis tells everyone there’s something to celebrate. The birth of a baby is a special occasion, but what’s unusual about this ceremony, is it’s to welcome a baby girl.
Traditionally ceremonies like these welcome baby boys, but not baby girls. This event in Maharashtra, has been organised by the Tejaswini project, which was funded by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development or IFAD and the Indian Government. The project has empowered over one million women giving them financial and cultural independence.
Despite laws to ban pre-birth gender selection and address high rates of female foeticide, in many parts of India having a baby girl is still seen as a huge disappointment. This event reinforces the project’s goal to encourage families to treat girls as equals.
A combined effort by community projects like this one and the government laws has seen a marked improvement in the number of girls born in the area. According to the National Health Survey, in 2005 it was just 867 to every 1000 males, now it is 924, and slightly higher than the national average of 919.
-IFAD
Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on Death Row in Indonesia,is Coming Home
Trapped in Lebanon, African Migrants Face Unemployment and Rockets
Permanent Representative of France Briefs Press After Security Council Meeting on Middle East
The Impact on a Ukrainian Family During 1,000-Days of Russia’s War
UN Security Council Meets to Discuss the Situation in Libya
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Flee Bombs
For Malawi’s Poorest,World Bank Provides Climate Shock Assistance
Subscribe Our You Tube Channel
Fighting Fake News
Fighting Lies