Where unwanted girls are 'Kaafi'

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Hissar: It is a well-documented fact that two of the most prosperous states in India - Haryana and Punjab have abysmally low sex ratios.

However, the story does not end at terminating female foetuses.

Thousands of girls in Haryana are given names that mean enough, stop it, last, fed up, and unwanted amongst numerous others.

Six-year-old Dhappan was named ‘Dhappan’ by her parents, which means - fed up.

Similarly two girls of Kaimri Village of Haryana say they are named 'Batheri', which means - more than enough and 'Kaafi' - which means enough.

Forty-eight-year-old Anchahi Devi (now renamed Chahi Devi) was the youngest of four sisters. She was named Anchahi - which means unwanted - by her parents.

However, Chahi Devi has not let the derogatory practice continue. She herself has five daughters, but none of them has a name to indicate that she is an unwanted child.

“Girls are strong and they have a right to live well,” says she.

In some places in Haryana when a boy is born, a metal plate is banged with a spoon and when a girl is born it is indicated with the smashing of a terracotta pot.

Giving unwanted girls of Haryana such names is a trend that has been going on for decades.

Not only are they being named as such girls are also being terminated even before they are born, so that the trouble of naming them does not arise.