There is a ray of sunshine in the dark gloom of female foeticide and communities still discriminating against the girl child in many parts of India.
According to the apex adoption agency in India, the number of girl child adoptions in the country has been on a steady rise over the past few years.
Anu J Singh, member secretary of the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), credits this happy trend to a change in the mindset of people at large.
“Whether it is because of social advertisements, movies or real life incidents, the mindset is definitely changing,” Singh said.
“People want to adopt a girl child.”
For instance, 1,819 of 2,990 children adopted in 2008 - both in-country and inter-country - were girls.
In 2009, 1,436 of the 2,518 adopted were girls. The number did come down last year when only 2,638 of the 6,286 children adopted were girls. But there are reasons behind it.
“Adoption of a child of a particular sex also depends on availability,” Singh said. “So if a couple wants a girl child but we do not have one, they are left with the choice of a boy.”
The difference in numbers between 2009 and 2010 also shows a big jump in adoptions in general.
“On the whole, I can say that the trend has definitely reversed and now people want a girl child,” Singh said.
Adoption Initiative Conference 2022
2 years ago
4 comments:
I'm probably going to regret this, but...
Although my heart aches for the families of the thousands of girls in India who are in need of families to raise them, it soars for the girls who will have a decent shot at a decent life -- with families who look, sound and smell different than the nannies or orphanage workers who are taking care of those children right now. Those little girls, the most fortunate of the unfortunate ones who are housed in understaffed and overcrowded orphanages and who suffer from malnutrition and a complete and total lack of stimulation, those few will be adopted by families who will take them far away from the country they were born in...they won't grow up with Indian culture, hearing Indian music and voices, smelling uniquely Indian smells, learning in an Indian educational system...
...and there are some people (some of whom frequently post on this blog) who will shout and rail and scream that it's all wrong...that adoptive parents shouldn't "rip" the children away from the country of their birth, from the sights, smells and sounds of the country in which they were born (much like these children were ripped away from their birth mothers).
So, here I sit, knowing that there will be some people (first or birth mothers and some adults who were adopted themselves as children) who will rail against the adoptions of these children and cry out that it's unethical and wrong; and at the same time wonder how quickly ethical adoptions can be processed to get those children out of there (truthfully, before too much damage can be done as a result of neglect, malnutrition and abuse).
And while I agree that it is 100% wrong, 100% of the time, to convince a young, scared, pregnant girl without the support of a boyfriend/husband/family to put their unborn child up for adoption just so that an adoptive family can build their family upon that young woman's loss, I wonder how in the world can anyone think that the adoption of these children -- these starving and potentially emotionally detatched children who are warehoused in pathetic living conditions in an Indian orphanage -- those who are already alive and simply existing in squalor -- how in the world can anyone convince APs that it's wrong to adopt these children and give them a shot at life?
And so I ask those who are disgusted with my post and the thoughts behind them: what should be done with these children -- the children who are cast off and abandoned and warehoused in orphanages. Is it better for them to stay there in their own culture and live in an institution and be tossed out on the street when you turn 10, 12, 13, or 16...or adopted out to a family (probably in a different country) who may not share the child's heritage and culture, but will offer them nutrition, education, support, encouragement and love?
Amen to Truly Blessed!
Idk, I know some Indian girls who are absolutely horrified with the idea of being raised by white parents. I know this because they met another girl who was Indian and adopted. When they told me about her situation they spoke about "and she was adopted by *white* people" as though she was adopted by terrifying monsters.
I also find westerners often overestimate their amazingness, that adoptees can have a very bad time of it, I have known more than a few who were abused. I have also heard of people coming out of orphanages and having very normal lives. Just like they have done in this country when orphanages were more common.
But please don't let me interrupt any self-congratulation.
Joy
"But please don't let me interrupt any self-congratulation."
Joy, WTH???
Where in the world did you read anything in my post that smacked of self-congratulation?
I was asking a question:
what should be done with these children -- the children who are cast off and abandoned and warehoused in orphanages. Is it better for them to stay there in their own culture and live in an institution and be tossed out on the street when you turn 10, 12, 13, or 16...or adopted out to a family (probably in a different country) who may not share the child's heritage and culture, but will offer them nutrition, education, support, encouragement and love?"
Since you know people and have heard about people who have been institutionalized, what should be done with those children who are already in orphanages in your opinion?
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