13 girls now, father firm on having second son

Mangalore Today News Network

Dahod, Aug 10, 2015: A tribal couple from the Jharibhujhi village in Dahod district’s Garbhada taluka fervently hoped for their sixteenth born to be a son.

 

But with another girl, the family’s fifteenth daughter, the father has refused to give up his quest for a second son. A boy was born to the couple in 2013.

While Ramsinh — a marginalised farmer — is firm on giving it another try, his wife Kanu Sangod (33) wants him to let her to undergo hysterectomy.

“I told my husband that we must consider it the God’s will to give us one son. We must now put an end to this quest for another son. I wish to undergo hysterectomy as I know my body is weak and I cannot afford to have another pregnancy,” Kanu said.

But Ramsinh insists that after the birth of another girl it is even more important to give it “one last try”.

“In our community, a woman’s brother must provide for wedding gifts, maternity gifts and other customary expenses of his sister’s children and families. My son is the youngest among all the sisters, except the new born daughter. It will be impossible for him to perform these important customs for all my daughters. This is the reason I want a second son, who would share half his burden. If God has given us another daughter, he may bless us with a son the next time,” he said.

Ramsinh and Kanu have been married for 18 years. On July 3, The Indian Express had reported the couple’s bizarre quest for a second son, despite having 12 surviving daughters then and an 18-month-old son.

Their eldest daughters – Sevanta (17) and Neeru (15) – were married in March. Then there’s Saranga (14), Hansa (13), Joshna (12), Ranjan (10), Meena (9), Payal (8), Moni (7), Hasina (5), Kinjal (4) Baigan (3) and Vijay (18 months). Among them Payal, Moni, Hasina and Kinjal attend a government primary school.

The couple claimed that their two daughters, Kali and Ovanti, had died nearly 7 years ago due to an “unknown illness”.

Their youngest daughter was born on August 2 at the local referral hospital in Garbhada.

“I am yet to think of a name for her. I first want my husband to take a decision about our future. It will be great if he allows me to undergo hysterectomy. We don’t have much to sustain ourselves and my body is not prepared for another pregnancy through near starvation. But I understand his reasons. It is indeed difficult for one son to meet all the expectations of the sisters. But my heart and body are not in sync right now,” the 33-year-old mother said.

In July, Kanu had told The Indian Express that she had agreed to Ramsinh’s idea of going in for multiple pregnancies for a son due to the fear of being deserted.

“When I could not bear a son for the first seven pregnancies, my husband told me he would bring another woman home and marry her for a son. I am an orphan and I did not want to be deserted. So, I agreed when he said we must try for a son, no matter what?” Kanu had said.

As per the 2011 census, Dahod has a child sex ratio of 948 girls per 1000 boys; in 2001, it was 967 per 1000.

And in Garbhada taluka’s Jharibhujhi, home to around 100 homes, many families have up to nine children. But Ramsinh and Kanu stand apart in their bizarre quest for sons.

 

 

Courtesy: Indianexpress