The Story Of 'Missing Girls' in India

When Ramamma became pregnant, she was told not to come back if she came back with a baby girl. A mother of two girls, she abandoned her newborn in the hospital, so that she could continue to give her older daughters a home. The two day old baby girl, Sudha, found shelter in Aarti Home. Today, she is a bright ten year old who loves to jump and play like any other child of her age and particularly drawing and painting is close to her heart. She is well adjusted and is secure, but very often wonders WHY HER MOTHER HAD TO ABANDON HER. Inspite of the love we give her, we are afraid this question will continue to haunt her.

Parveen is a fair trade worker and trainer at Aarti Home. She still remembers the day her books were sold – because her father believed her brother deserved to be educated and not her. As a young mother, she remembers the trauma she had to face from her closed community when she decided to get trained in tailoring and work. Today, Parveen has become a true agent of change and female role model in a village where none existed before. She said that the villagers that had once berated her now come to her for loans and assistance. She also is educating her children and has resolved that her daughter will not face what she had to face.