They all got rid of the name ‘Nakoshi', which means unwanted in Marathi
“Unwanted” is what 265 girls in Satara district were called until today. In a public renaming ceremony held on Saturday, all the girls got rid of the name “Nakoshi” meaning unwanted in Marathi, and hopefully, the humiliation that came with it.
Owing to a “tradition” that reflects gender bias, several parents in the region have named their third or fourth daughter Nakoshi, in the hope that the next child will be a boy. In a recent survey, district health officials realised that this was a rampant practice in Satara. In a bid to undo the damage, and spread awareness about protecting the girl child, the district administration organised a public event to rename and honour the girls.
Waiting for her renaming ceremony to start, 10-year-old Nakoshi Bavdhane told The Hindu that she is the fourth girl born to her parents. “I am happy that my name has been changed. It was embarrassing to say my name whenever anyone asked,” she told The Hindu. Asked what the new name was, her mother Janabai struggled to remember. “Hey, Nakoshi, what's the name?,” she asked her daughter. “Aishwarya,” she replied. “It is so difficult. I don't know if I will get used to saying it,” Janabai said, grinning. Asked why she had named her daughter Nakoshi, she states without any hint of guilt, “We were tired. We had three daughters, and on top of that she was born. So we wanted to tell God, enough.” She is proud when she says, “I had two sons after her.”
“We are farm labourers. How much can we earn to support four girls? We cannot afford to pay for the education and marriage of all four of them. Who will give so much dowry?,” Janabai asks.
Nakoshi Kirdat (32) has a similar story to tell. An anganwadi (crèche) worker in Karanjepet village, she had her name changed to Neeta when she got married at 18. However, she remained “Nakoshi” on paper. “I was sent to school only till tenth class, as my parents didn't have money to educate me. But I always wanted to do something important, and gain respect. I have accepted the fact that my parents didn't want me when I was born, but I didn't want to give up on myself,” she states, with the faith that the new name will also give her a new identity.
However, in a region where gender bias only starts with the name, and the parents think of daughters as a burden, there is a possibility that the change will only be restricted to the renaming ritual, and not reflect in the actual change in mindset.
Satara District Health Officer Dr. Bhagwan Pawar addressed the concern and told The Hindu that the renaming will send out a positive message to people, that girls must be welcomed in the family.
“It might not change the sex ratio of the district drastically, and the mindsets of people will take years to change, but this is one way of telling our girls that we need them, and they are indispensable in our lives,” Dr. Pawar said.
It took eight months for the officials to recognise the “Nakoshis” in schools and anganwadis across the district. Dr. Pawar's team found 26 “Nakoshis” in Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's hometown Karad. At 881, the district's child sex ratio is lower than the State average of 883. Most of the girls come from poor households, Dr. Pawar said.
First noticed
The process to identify “Nakoshis” in the State was initiated by Ahmednagar-based activist Sudha Kankria who first noticed the trend in 2007.
“I realised it was a vicious circle that the girls are a part of; their parents didn't want them, so in turn they don't want girls. It needs to break somewhere, and getting a new identity is surely a beginning of that process,” Ms. Kankria said.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was the chief guest at the event, addressed the girls and said, “Even if your name is “unwanted” we need you girls in the State. In Maharashtra, girls will be treated equal to boys.”
Social worker Varsha Deshpande who works on issues of female foeticide, stated that the renaming ceremony should not merely remain a ritual.
Keywords: gender discrimination, girl child rights, Satara, Nakoshi
This is very good campaign to reduce the prejudiced mentality of people of India.From ancient time people of India prefer boy instead girl..There is not a single reference of girl in rugveda.Other vadas wrote disdainfully about girls.To erases this prejudices is very difficult.People of Maharashtra started hopeful beginning other state must follow this movement
The first step is to remove this misconception from the minds of the parents that mere name of child will influence birth of next child. The next step is to start the campaign for education of the children especially of the girls. It has to be done with the missionary zeal not with the government work zeal.
It is like a stain in our indian society. Very sad to say,the gender bias are still in our culture. Whereas there is not any difference left between girl and boy. The people who does not understand this reality,just making fun of humans ie,of girls. The SHO should be appreciated for his noble work.
it is just an identification not a solution because in our country where rituals, customs, traditions have more importance than rule of law. So change in mindset is the prerequisite from doing such type of acts...What will we changes with just the name of girl child? The attitude of the people toward girl child will still remain same...So this problem is everywhere with different type of names...suggestions:-
1. 1st of all we should establish rule of law because India lives in villages and here these practices observed with a great social acceptance on the name of culture, traditions, customs, rituals. 2. secondly we should oppsosed some maltraditions such as dowry which make a girl child a burden on their mentality. they think that higher study means high rate of dowry. 3. girls itself should also aware about the various programs and policies which are being ran by centre and state governments. 4. corruption in government schemes is also a matter of grave concern.
A grand start for a great story. Heartening to see such a positive step to initiate the changes needed to bridge the gender gap. Steps like these need to be taken, by the people at the grassroot institutes, to start the cultural change process, slowly but definitely. The efforts of the District Health Officer Dr Bhagwan Pawar needs to be commended , encouraged and replicated in all other blocks of the country where the girl child is seen as a burden. As the office aptly put, we need them (girl child) and they are indispensable in our lives.
So when are the parents of "Rahul" "Rohan" are changing their names? Indian needs to know self-respect and stop branding people based on name, class or creed. A servant to Mohan had tried to give all self-respect. >MohanDas Gandhi.....
Please Email the Editor