The sarpanch has a new name

For years,women of Narhe village lived with the name Nakoshi,Marathi for the unwanted one. Now,a few of them are renaming themselves

At a function in Narhe village,in Haveli taluka of Pune,the sarpanch got herself a new name: Jayashree. The fourth of eight siblings (seven girls and one boy),she was named Jayashree at birth,but no one ever called her that. She was known as Nakoshi (Marathi for unwanted one) because in a society that didnt think much of girls,little Jayashree was unwelcome.

I have lived with this name for years. My parents wanted a boy and I was their fourth girl. Officially,my name is Jayashree but villagers would often taunt me saying,Nako nako mhantat,kashala jagtat (Not anymore,then why do you live?), recalls Jayashree Bhumkar,now 40.

My brother was born only after there were three more Nakoshis in the family.

When sarpanch Jayashree got back her name,the crowd at the renaming ceremony chanted: Tu amhala havishe (We all want you). The renaming function for Jayashree was organised on April 19 by the Pune Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti to create awareness among the villagers about the falling child sex ratio. The sarpanch gave a moving account of her growing up days at her parents home in Purandar taluka. So by the end of her talk,at least 25 other Nakoshis raised their hands when they were asked if they wanted to be renamed.

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Why live like this, asks Rema Wani,who was felicitated on the occasion of undergoing sterilisation after the birth of her daughter. There needs to be a change in attitude, says 60-year-old Prabhavati Bhumkar,former chairperson of the Haveli Panchayat Samiti. We publicly felicitated 45 such girls who underwent sterilisations last year, says Bhumkar.

Dr Sudha Kankaria,an Ahmednagar-based ophthalmologist who has been working on womens rights for over a decade,played a key role in helping Jayashree get back her name. Girls who are unwanted are often given names in Marathi to show they are not desired. This attitude has to be changed. We often visit families asking them to rename their girls so that they feel more loved and wanted, says Kankaria.

For nearly 10 years,Kankaria has been waging a lone battle for the girl child. It began when she came across a young woman who came to her with traumatic cataract. This woman had a girl from her first pregnancy and her in-laws wanted her to abort the second pregnancy after they got to know the sex of the child. But she refused to abort her child and her in-laws would beat her. One such injury led to the traumatic cataract, says Kankaria,who was so horrified that she decided to fight for womens rights. She even prepared an eleven-point agenda on saving the girl child.

On this unique agenda are ways to encourage couples to take eight pheras instead of the traditional seven while tying the knotthe eighth vow being that the couple would welcome a baby girl in their lives.

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According to provisional data from Census 2011,the child sex ratio (0-6 years) in Maharashtra has dipped from 913 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 883 in 2011. Several high-risk districts have been identified where the ratios have dipped to less than 850 girls per 1,000 boys, says Dr Suresh Gupta,State Appropriate Authority,who is also the Additional Director of the State Family Welfare Bureau. All districts,barring Kolhapur,Satara,Sangli and Chandrapur,have shown a decline in the child sex ratio,ranging from 10 to 93 points. Beed district is the worst affected where the child sex ratio is as low as 801 girls per 1,000 boys.

While Pune has dipped by 29 points (it was 902 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 and dropped to 873 in 2011),the child sex ratio in a few talukas of the district has gone below 850. Shirur taluka,barely 45 km away from Pune,has a low child sex ratio of 846 and an awareness programme has been planned on April 29, says Kankaria.