It has been a year now. On 9th august 2017, Almighty Allah blessed me with a baby girl, as she is the first child of our family so the feelings were amazing. It was 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning when the doctor came out from the operation theatre in green uniform with my daughter in his lap, I felt that all the blessings of the world has come down to me. The moment she touched my hand with her soft tiny fingers, she made me to realize that father I am here to support you, love you, care for you, walk with you in your journey of life. When according to Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SAW, I prayed Azan to her, I still remember how she opened her eye, as if listened carefully. In the meantime there was a huge gathering of relatives, friends in the hospital room; some sharing my happiness and greeting me – Mubarak; while others having sad feelings particularly the women folk. I felt extreme distressed due to the approach of the people around me tapping my shoulders as a gesture of encouragement and saying, now you became a KORE MOUL in such manner as if I committed a sin by becoming the father of a daughter. After noticing all these mixed responses of the people I asked to myself, why the birth of a girl child is not celebrated in our society and that of a baby boy is cherished. Our approach is so biased in this matter that we know that she is the source of life and still she has to face the rejection even at her birth – why? Why her birth doesn’t bring smile to her family, and even at times to her parents as well. It’s unfortunate that she is victimized socially right from her birth and even before by the cruelty of female foeticide, and after marriage by her in-laws at various instances though exceptions apart.
As the new thing in life is always welcomed but she is unwelcome for no reasons. In the contemporary times, from economic point of view, the expenditure on the upbringing of male and female child is the same. Moreover, it is an established fact that the female is the source of life as IqbalAR rightly said wajood e zan sae hai tasveerai kainaat mai rang. In the contemporary times girls outshine boys in every field and prove their talent at the national and international levels. Our approach is so biased in this regard that we claim and demand that “paeth bana shoobes ladka patae gai koor”- first a boy, then girl. This notion of thinking is totally outdated, pathetic and unnatural and who is going to decide that whether first child should be baby boy and not a girl? And what kind of difference does this make to the parents as girl or boy both are dearest to them.
An Appeal: Girls are dearest to the parents and their birth is no curse but a blessing, and no different than boys. The womb of the mother nourishes both boy and girl equally, then who we are to discriminate. In the present scenario the attitude of the people about the birth of the female child reflects the pre Islamic pagan Arabs’ concept of female child. Girls should be cared with humility as they are like petals which need the nourishment of love. Generally it is believed that boys are a support in old age, but how far this stands true in the practical life. Remember, we have old homes too here in this world of male babies.