Are we living in the Middle Ages? The report carried in this paper yesterday about a helpless woman divorced and thrown out on the streets for giving birth to a girl child suggests that we are. It is unbelievable but true that even today, in this day and age, giving birth to a girl child incurs such a severe consequence for the mother. Leaving aside the legal, moral and religious aspects of the issue, the husband seems to have conveniently questioned the paternity of the baby. What followed by way of the comment of the husband, made to justify his illegal, immoral and irreligious action, is like hanging a dog and giving it a bad name. He has not only divorced his wife but has also cast aspersions on her character. The man wants to have a DNA test done to ascertain the identity of the child's father, and will accept her if it is proved that he is the biological father, but he will not accept the child's mother. What bigotry!

One may brush off this matter as a one-off incident, but as harsh as it may sound, the matter is fairly reflective of the attitude towards the girl child and women even today. One may not have heard of too many of such incidents, but such cases are not infrequent. It is a fact that the birth of a girl is frowned upon by the in-laws and the wife disdained till she produces a male child for the so-called purpose of continuing the family lineage. In many cases, the family forces the husband to remarry, hoping for a boy. In most cases, not only is the birth of a boy greeted with more joy and fanfare, and of a girl with disappointment, sometimes palpable and sometimes imperceptible, the subsequent treatment of the boy and the girl as they grow up is markedly different also. And it has nothing to do with the economic or social standing of the parents or the husband. This misogynist attitude is, unfortunately, fairly pervasive in society—at home, at work places and in the public sphere in general.

What the husband has done is not only illegal, since a divorce is not valid during the period of pregnancy, there seems to also be considerable deceit in the divorce process, since the wife has not received the divorce letter as yet. We believe that the relevant laws that protect women in such an event, should be applied rigorously. It is therefore frustrating that the police, reportedly, did not file a case in the matter. The husband deserves to be brought under the law and dealt with appropriately. The government must create awareness on the importance of girl children and women in our nation' development and it must punish those who deprive women and girl children of their rights.