Wrapped in a pink shawl, a baby girl, merely two or three days old, was found abandoned on a pavement in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. “Shocked” Twitter users in India are sharing news reports about the infant who was found crying at a roundabout in Noida’s Sector -122.
According to a report on the Indian news website dnaindia.com, police personnel said that passersby heard her crying and managed to spot the baby. https://twitter.com/JournoPuruGuru/status/1255328546098155522
After the Noida Police was informed, a team of cops arrived on the spot and contacted the CHILDLINE India Foundation.
While many Twitter users, who shared the viral photo, said they were shocked that parents could think of abandoning their children, there were some who pointed out that the parents could have been forced to abandon the child due to poverty. India’s lockdown had caused many daily wage workers to lose their jobs, and others have been temporarily out of work for the last few weeks.
@rosammat posted: “She sleeps so peacefully, this little angel. God bless her. And, maybe her mother had no way to take care of her. God bless that guilty soul too.”
Some frustrated tweeps highlighted how female infanticide and crimes against girl children were common in India and continued even amidst a pandemic.
Using the hashtag #VanishingGirls, @Tehmina_Arora posted: “When a lockdown does not stop you from abandoning your baby girl.”
And, @balaakumar posted: “Unfortunate and this continues to happen. Why are baby girls being dumped, killed, harassed. Are you human?”
India’s missing female children
According to a previous Gulf News report, a 2011 study conducted by India’s Central Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme said that nearly three million girls went missing due to female infanticide. It’s estimated that 10 million female births (500,000 every year) have been aborted in India in the last 20 years.
Girls: An ‘economic burden’ for many in India
In September, a global study on female infanticide by Asian Centre for Human Rights, a Delhi-based NGO (non-governmental organisation) dedicated to the protection of human rights, revealed that in India, the preference of male children is a major reason for female. Dowry system in South Asia, which makes daughters “an unaffordable economic burden”, also contributes to female infanticide. Girls are often considered a financial liability.
When reports started being shared on social media, some people took to the micro-blogging site to tag authorities expressing interest to adopt the child.
@TejwaniHarish posted: “@dmgbnagar dear sir, heard news about the #abandoned_girl_child in Parthala Chowk, Noida yesterday. I wish to adopt this baby, but going through CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) is a tedious process and nearly impossible at this time of lockdown. Please help us.”
Reportedly, the girl has been admitted at the Kailash Hospital in Noida. After getting clearance from the district administration, she will be sent to Mathura Care Centre. A probe has also been launched into the matter, the police confirmed.
