Girl child hatred syndrome continues to haunt mothers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 27 2010: "When I was seven months pregnant, my in-laws insisted on aborting the child with the threat that the child would be sold off if it is born.

Only when the doctor told them that the mother would die if the child is to be aborted at such an advance stage of pregnancy, I was allowed to give birth to my girl child," said 25-year old Gulapsaha, who has come to take refuge in a short stay home at Imphal.

The woes of Gulapsaha does not end there.

When her girl child was around 6 months old, in-laws of Gulapsaha sold it off to another person while she was away working as house maid at other people's places.

Determined to have her child back, Gulapsaha saved her earnings and finally bought back her child after paying Rs 5000 and came to stay in the short stay home in first week of December.

Gulapsaha with her child at a short-stay centre

Narrating her ordeal, Gulapsaha said that she met her husband Md Firoj at a family in Kshetrigao Chandam Leikai, where she used to work as house maid.

Firoj is a construction worker and he had come to that house in connection with some construction works to be taken up.

After some months of courtship, Firoj and Gulapsaha eloped and finally got married around two years back.

Contrary to her dream of a happy family, her in-laws started ill-treating her even to the extent of physical assault.

The scar on her forehead made by a ladle tells tale of the brutality committed by her in-laws.

As time passed on, Gulapsaha got pregnant.

But the talk of providing adequate and nutritious food to a would-be mother is something that Gulapsaha could not expect from the family, where she is nothing but a burden inspite of supplementing income to the family through attending to the household chores of other people.

When Gulapsaha was into 7 months of pregnancy, her in-laws insisted that she should go for abortion.

She was also threatened that the child would be sold off when it is born if she did not abort it.

Unable to do what is good or bad for herself in such a situation, Gulapsaha did go to a hospital for abortion.

However, when the doctor advised her and her in-laws that it would be dangerous to go for abortion at such an advance stage of pregnancy, she could keep the child and she gave birth to a girl child.However, when the girl child was around 6 months old, the in-laws of a helpless Gulapsaha sold her child to one Md Hashim of Kairang, in Imphal East district.

Gulapsaha was away from home attending to the household chores of other people when her baby was sold off.

Her in-laws took advantage of her absence and sold off the child, she said.

Gulapsaha informed that she could not take her child to the place of her work as the house master/mistress said that he/she does want to hear cries of the baby.

Her world was shattered when Gulapsaha came to know that her child had been sold off.

But determined to get her back, Gulapsaha worked harder attending to household chores of even more families and saved every single paisa that she could earn and bought back her child after paying Rs 5000 .

The short stay home where Gulapsaha has taken refuge is meant for destitute women who have nowhere else to go or no one to look after or are victims of domestic violence.

They are normally allowed to stay at the most for 2 to 3 years.

In between this period, the officials of the short stay home make every possible efforts for reconciliation through family counselling so such destitute women return to their normal life.

Gulapsaha said that she does not have any idea of where to go along with her little child after end of her stay in the short stay home.

'I am afraid to go to back to my husband', she added.

Inspite of a bleak future before her, Gulapsaha said that she is still determined to bring up her girl child and provide a life better than her own.