Woman anti to Woman

 My son was an intern in one of the biggest hospitals in India. He was posted in Haryana state. As we all know, Haryana is famous for female foeticide. So much so that the sex ratio is 900  females to 1000 males.

My son's friend Suresh used to visit our house. It so happened that he was from Haryana. Jokingly, he will tell me," Dear aunty, I can not get a good match to marry, as the girl who was destined to marry me was killed in the female foeticide drive of Haryana." I used to feel sad for him, but I had no courage to express my sadness in front of him.

My son was posted in Haryana as an intern, and at 2.30 in the night, a woman came with labor pains.

The protocol demands that the doctor on duty do a per vaginal examination and decide whether to admit or refer, depending upon the effacement/dilatation of the cervix/previous history.

The woman was in labor, accompanied by her mother-in-law and sister in law at 2.30 in the night. My son was the only doctor on duty, and their first demand was  - they want a female doctor.

When they realized that my son was the only doctor on duty, they finally agreed to have an examination done by my son.

The woman in labor was sufficiently dilated, and my son asked the nurses to admit her.

 It was her first child. As luck would have it, the woman gave birth to a girl child.

Their concerned faces(the mother-in-law and her sister), who only wanted a female doctor to examine her, suddenly turned upside down. They told my son, ‘If it were a male child, it would have been less painful for the mother with the labor pains and less painful for us too.’

The same mother-in-law and sister in law who were refusing her(the woman with labour pain) to be examined by a male doctor(my son) and wanted a female doctor to examine their daughter-in-law, now suddenly were sad that she gave birth to a female child.

My son told me above above-listed story. I at once remember dear Suresh, my son's good friend

I immediately thanked God for being so nice to this universe and for creating males and females in equal numbers.I am so worried that if this equal ratio is distorted, what will happen to this universe? God only knows

Sukarma Thareja

 Alumnus IITK 1986

India