Chandigarh, September 17
In the villages across the state, tales of the girl-child blossoming are finding their way into the chronicles of hope. Though few and far between, these stories have given rise to the belief that there can be a turnaround in the situation.

Leading the crusade at the moment is Nawanshahr’s earnest Deputy Commissioner Krishan Kumar. With an alarming child sex ratio of 808:1000 in 2001 from 900:1000 in 1991, Kumar now spouts numbers in the 900s once again.

The DC has not been in Nawanshahr for long. It is a little over a year since he took up this assignment but his system of ‘medical and social audits’, well documented, are already yielding results.

“Female foeticide is not a social evil, it is an offence. If we do not have girls, we will not have mothers and tomorrow we will have no children. There is nothing worse,” he says on why he thought this issue was high on his priority list.

The key is fear and respect for the law. That is precisely what the village of Begowal near Ludhiana has been trying to ensure. Here, from April to August 2006, the village recorded the birth of 24 girls and 14 boys and in the five years since the 2001 census, the birth figures indicate 285 boys and 271 girls.

Sarabjeet Kaur, the energetic multi-purpose health worker, says appealing to people about giving girls a fair chance and putting the fear of the law into them is working.

“People realise they cannot indulge in illegal activities to ensure the birth of a boy.” Not just this, the village has worked hard to eradicate bizarre sex-selection practices seeped in irrational folklore too.

Sarabjit leads the way to local resident Karamjit Kaur’s home in the village. Karamjit has two daughters and never thought of another child after that.

“What is the difference between boys and girls, please tell me? When I was expecting for the first time, I prayed that the child should be healthy, good fortune and do well in life. The idea whether the child should be a boy or a girl never even crossed my mind,” she says matter-of-factly.

Karamjit’s elder daughter Prabhjot Kaur wants to be a mechanical engineer some day. She is studying in an English medium school and has won several awards for studies as well as extra-curricular activities. Her teachers say she is their shining star.

Further, in the heart of Jalandhar district lies the village of Lakhanpal which has a lopsided ratio, in its own way at 1400 women to 1000 men. Member of the panchayat Gulzari Lal says they were aware of the falling sex-ratio in Punjab and the panchayat issued a stern warning that if they got to know of anyone indulging in illegal sex-selection activities, legal action would be taken against them.

Jeevan Kumari, another member of the panchayat refers to the process as, “fear of the law and fear of God,” because the village is strictly against killing the unborn-girl. “Maybe one per cent of the population may be indulging in its desire for a boy through illegal means but I have never heard of an incident. Pregnancies are very difficult to hide. Anganwadi workers go from door-to-door enquiring,” she insists.

However, the village is not without its share of problems. Drug-abuse seems to have gripped most of the men in the village, including two of Jeevan Kumari’s sons who she refers to as “nikkama” (useless). “It is the women and the girls who are keeping the village going,” she says.

But it is not always easy for individuals to withstand pressure, especially for women, and that is why Nirad Bala’s story is indeed stirring. This poor family in the village of Shutrana, in Patiala district lives off the daily wages Nirad’s husband brings in.

The family has three girls and Nirad says the credit for it goes to her husband. “I wanted a boy but my husband did not. He said we will accept whatever God gives us with grace,” he said. Despite the taunts of their neighbours, her husband refused to get the sex-determination test done. “He told me it was a sin to do it,” says Nirad.

And finally in the village of Talaniya in Fatehgarh Sahib, it is Neel Kamal Kaur’s inspirational story that sums it all up. The youngest of five children (she has three more sisters and she lost her only brother in 1986), Neel Kamal is the farmer in the family who works as much as the men in the fields, starting her day at 4.30 am and working till 8.30 pm.

Brown as the wheat she grows, this spirited lady stands as an example to all the girls in her village. “Yes, many come and ask me how I do it but I do not think too much about all this. There is no male in my family to take care of the land so I do it.” She is the only woman farmer in her district. Concluded