"Nakusa" no more by Roop Gill

Indian girls change their name to fight discrimination.

In the local language of the state of Maharashtra, ‘Nakusa' means ‘unwanted'. Last week,
more than 200 Indian girls took a stand against gender discrimination by officially changing
their names from 'Nakusa' to something else.
The Central Indian district of Satara held an official ceremony where these girls were
awarded official name change certificates and new hopes of equality.
Sexism is an ancient issue in India where girls are often seen as a burden, especially in
poorer communities, because their parents are forced to pay a dowry at their wedding. Sons,
on the other hand, are typically considered as a great asset because they can earn wages for
the family. The Hindustan Times reports that parents hold a strong belief that by naming their
daughters ‘Nakusa' they were ensured that their next-born would be a son.
This YouTube video shows girls and women lining up for the name-changing ceremony.
Many girls changed their names to that of their favourite Bollywood actress. Aishwarya was
the most popular choice after famous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Others chose names
of goddesses.
As a female of Indian descent, I find news like this very disturbing. Not long ago was India
easily deemed as a developing nation. Recently, urban cities in India are thriving centres of
business, technology and economics but is it actually considered progression if the social
system has such deep flaws?
In the state of Maharashtra where the ceremony took place, there are only 833 girls for every
1,000 boys. This number was 933 girls only 10 years ago. This change is a result of abortions
of female fetuses or neglect of the health of young girls.
Although, hospitals are now banned from revealing the gender of an unborn child and
ceremonies like these are giving young women a boost of confidence, how much will the
social structure actually change? Plan International found that majority of families in India
chose to educate their sons over daughters. Without education, social development is next to
impossible.
Do you think that women changing their name is a step in the right direction or a useless
attempt at changing a rigid social system?
1) Where did the word “Nakusa” originated?
2) Why did the Indian girls change their names?
3) What would they get after the ceremony?
4) In India, how people think of boys and girls?
5) Why do the parents name their daughters “Nakusa”?
6) What is the aim of Paragraph 4?
7) What would they do if they found out the baby was a girl?
8) What is the most important key to better social development?
"Nakusa" no more by Roop Gill
Indian girls change their name to fight discrimination.
In the local language of the state of Maharashtra, ‘Nakusa' means ‘unwanted'. Last week,
more than 200 Indian girls took a stand against gender discrimination by officially changing
their names from 'Nakusa' to something else.
The Central Indian district of Satara held an official ceremony where these girls were
awarded official name change certificates and new hopes of equality.
Sexism is an ancient issue in India where girls are often seen as a burden, especially in
poorer communities, because their parents are forced to pay a dowry at their wedding. Sons,
on the other hand, are typically considered as a great asset because they can earn wages for
the family. The Hindustan Times reports that parents hold a strong belief that by naming their
daughters ‘Nakusa' they were ensured that their next-born would be a son.
This YouTube video shows girls and women lining up for the name-changing ceremony.
Many girls changed their names to that of their favourite Bollywood actress. Aishwarya was
the most popular choice after famous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Others chose names
of goddesses.
As a female of Indian descent, I find news like this very disturbing. Not long ago was India
easily deemed as a developing nation. Recently, urban cities in India are thriving centres of
business, technology and economics but is it actually considered progression if the social
system has such deep flaws?
In the state of Maharashtra where the ceremony took place, there are only 833 girls for every
1,000 boys. This number was 933 girls only 10 years ago. This change is a result of abortions
of female fetuses or neglect of the health of young girls.
Although, hospitals are now banned from revealing the gender of an unborn child and
ceremonies like these are giving young women a boost of confidence, how much will the
social structure actually change? Plan International found that majority of families in India
chose to educate their sons over daughters. Without education, social development is next to
impossible.
Do you think that women changing their name is a step in the right direction or a useless
attempt at changing a rigid social system?
9) Where did the word “Nakusa” originated?
10) Why did the Indian girls change their names?
11) What would they get after the ceremony?
12) In India, how people think of boys and girls?
13) Why do the parents name their daughters “Nakusa”?
14) What is the aim of Paragraph 4?
15) What would they do if they found out the baby was a girl?
16) What is the most important key to better social development?