An Indian Village Plants 111 Trees Every Time a Girl is Born

[vellavu]

An Indian Village Plants 111 Trees Every Time a Girl is Born

According to Paliwal, around 60 girls are born in Piplantri each year. In over half these cases, he told the Hindu, parents were reluctant to accept girl children because they were viewed as less valuable and more expensive. As a result, the tree-planting program was a way to encourage families to celebrate the girls in their families, and to combat a deep-seated culture of female feticide. As Al Jazeera reports, a 2011 study found that up to 12 million female fetuses had been aborted in India within the last decade.

The Indian government has put in place multiple measures to prevent female feticide; for example, testing the gender of a fetus is illegal in India, as are dowries, which make girl children more expensive to parents than boys. Additionally, a program called "Beti Bacho, Beti Padho" (Save our daughters, Educate our daughters) began in 2014 to target districts in which the gender divide is particularly prevalent.

Piplantri's tree scheme went a step further in that it encouraged parents not only to keep their girl children, but also to celebrate them.

 

[Athena]

This is so sad, that in 2016 we're still discussing female feticide. The gender imbalance will be felt for generations.

I guess for me, I find it unbelievable that a statement such as "In addition, as the parents plant the trees, they sign a legal affidavit stating that their daughter will receive a full education and will not be married before she comes of the legal age of 18, according to Folomojo." should be reality. Because all children are entitled to an education and the choice of whether or not to marry when they grow up.

I believe in cultural values and representation, but not to detriment of these young girls' lives. It's a positive step, but we need to completely overhaul the roles of women in these countries full stop. They're still seen as a lesser sex; only there to bear the children and tend to a husband. These views also need an overhaul.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I take the rains happened, as 2 weeks ago India 'feared' 300 million people would die due to the lack of rainfall. So 60 girls will die in Piplantri this year will it, how small is the village. Has anyone been charged with the murder of those girls, probably not.