If you read my last blog, then you know that girls are often not valued in Indian culture. They are seen as more costly than a boy due to the fact that they require an expensive dowry and leave the family after marriage. Because of the shame a family feels when having a daughter, baby girls are often killed. Sometimes they are actually killed either in utero or after being born. In one village, families would pay their midwife to kill their baby if it was a girl. The family feels this is best for them and the baby. The hope is that if the baby dies she will be reincarnated as a boy. This is known as infanticide or gendercide. Much of the time they are abandoned or sold into slavery or a marriage as a child. As of now, anywhere from 10-60 million girls are “missing” from India, despite the fact that this is illegal. Killing baby girls causes many problems. One of these problems is a skewed sex ratio, which means having more of one gender, males in this case. India is currently ranked #4 in terms of how skewed their male to female ratio is. If this country-wide gendercide continues, it will be very bad for India’s population as a whole.
This is where Rescue Pink stepped in. One aspect of the organization caters to girls ranging in age from 4 to 12 years old. Six afternoons a week, the girls come for an after-school program. Here they are taught English, given play time, and fed a nutritious snack. They are loved and cherished. They are taught the program’s motto which is “I am beautiful, strong, and brave.” None of the girls had to be physically rescued from their homes, although many have not-so-great home situations, but they were rescued from a life of not being valued and shown their worth.
Here are just a few stories from my time at Rescue Pink:
During an interview, one woman shared that after her daughter was born her mother-in-law stopped talking to her and refused to come see the baby. Now that the woman has given birth to a son, the mother-in-law is back in the family’s life.
One little girl in the program, a 6 year old, is one of 3 girls in her family. Her father desired to sell each of them into bonded labor. Thankfully, another mother whose child is in the program heard about it and informed Rescue Pink. Rescue Pink did their job and rescued this little girl and her siblings from having to grow up too fast and miss out on the childhood they deserved. The little girl now comes to the after-school program. When she first started attending, she wouldn’t talk, but now she is bubbly and talkative. She plays with the other little girls and is shown her worth on a daily basis.
Another girl in the program used to live with her mother, father, and older sister. Her mother got sick with breast cancer, so the dad left the family. He is currently remarried. The girl’s mother passed away, so she and her sister live with their grandmother and uncle. The grandmother is a sweet, Christian woman, who performs daily labor to provide for the family. But the uncle beats the grandmother and steals the money she makes to buy alcohol. If the girls try to intervene, they get beat too. Unfortunately, Rescue Pink hasn’t been able to help with that situation, but they are able to give the little girl a safe place to come in the afternoon, as well as a nutritious snack, help with schoolwork, and a whole lot of love.
The majority of the girls who come to the afternoon program have a similar story, a story where they aren’t highly valued by their family and their community simply because of their gender. But because of Rescue Pink, these girls have a better present and a brighter future. They can play and laugh and be little girls. They can learn English. They can be loved and cherished and be taught that they are beautiful, strong, and brave. Because, they are! They are beautiful, they are strong, and they are brave. They are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, just like a boy. They have value, and they deserve to know that! Thank you Rescue Pink for seeing these girls for who they truly are. Thank you for rescuing them out of what seem like hopeless situations. Thank you for making strides to turn the culture of India upside down. On behalf of each little girl I played with and laughed with and danced with, thank you!
