Sangam Diaspora

The value of a son has always been emphasized in Hindu culture rooting back to dowry and other cultural benefits. While sons carry on the family name, daughters are considered a liability. Why, you ask? Because after parents raise daughters and give them an education, they must be married into someone else’s home. These cultural and social constructs have developed into a larger problem of sex-selective abortion: the practice of killing a female fetus—a horrible practice that still goes on in my hometown of Gujarat, India. Over the past 20 years, an estimated 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in India. This summer, MGF gave me the wonderful opportunity to be proactive and tackle part of this issue. After carefully developing my own advocacy program in Gujarati focusing on women’s reproductive rights and the power of education, I was able to work with six different NGOs focusing on Women’s Empowerment as well as several villages in the slum areas. I got to know the women in the centers and the slums, hear their stories and struggles, and then offer them guidance on how to become more independent—how to have control over their bodies and their lives. My experiences have been phenomenal, shocking, eye-opening and unforgettable as everyday I saw for myself the problems that India faces. Women’s reproductive rights is a touchy issue that is rarely discussed, but I was lucky enough to cross the barrier and discuss these issues openly with women. From the interactions I’ve had, one thing I can say is that women in India will only become stronger if they are encouraged to pursue an education and learn how to stand up on their own two feet. I am inspired to think of the strength of a woman and how our reproductive rights have progressed in India. As trivial as it may sound to us, girls can now wear skirt uniforms in school and women are now able to work and provide for their families just as a man would. However, for more progress to occur to stop sex-selective abortions from occurring, students like us, who have certain privileges that we seldom acknowledge, need to pay attention to these issues. If we can appreciate the rights we have, we should also be able to help others fight for theirs. I saw women living in the most extreme poverty, having close to no control over their bodies and being subject to will of others. But each and every single woman I met taught me the importance of being truly happy with the things you DO have. MGF opened my eyes to this social problem, allowed me to hear the voices of women, and gave me a chance to empower and improve their lives. For this, I will be forever grateful.

-Priya Soni, Senior