India, as a country has its own uniqueness in the way that it welcomes open-mindedness with a social dogma attached to it. Although gender discrimination has been controlled in our country it has not ended yet. And, in order to bring that positive change in the mindset of people, priests at major temples in Indore have come up with a unique way. It lies in the blessings they shower on newlywed couples and pregnant women that can be best termed as ‘Gender-neutral’ blessings.
It is quite common for the priests to bless the couple by saying ‘putravati bhava’ (may you be blessed with a son). However, in order to bring the sense of gender equality, it is now being replaced with ‘santanvati bhava’ (may you be blessed with a child).
The belief attached with having a male child that he will keep the name of the family alive, earn for it and bring it fame has been rooted in the mindset of the society and in order to curb it, there is an urgent need to bring in required changes. And, one of the best ways would be for spiritual and religious leaders to make people understand it as Indians look upto spiritual leaders.
As a step towards changing the mindset of the people, newly-wed couples and expecting women are being blessed with ‘santanvati bhava.’
One of the priests based in Indore stated that how lots of people approach them on daily basis with a problem of not finding a bride for their sons. The imbalanced sex-ratio is a major reason behind this. He further added, ‘Beti nahi bachaoge to bahu kahan se laoge’ (If girl child is not saved, how will you find a bride)..
The authorities concerned have been asked to advise other spiritual and religious leaders to make similar efforts to bring positive changes in the society.
There are over 1600 priests serving in and around 1000 government-run temples in Indore, where thousands of people visit on daily basis to seek blessings.And, such initiatives further help in boosting the cause of ‘Save the Girl Child Campaign’.
As of late, district administration has taken various steps to curb illegal sex-determination tests and abortions. Recently, PCPNDT Cell claimed to have witnesses a 10 point increase in sex ratio at birth, recording female delivery rate at 943 girls/1000 boys in last calendar year.
There, however, is still a room for improvement.