B’day gift for daughters of state
Nayan Dave | TNN
October 20, 2006
Surendranagar: It was a different icing on the birthday cake of Palak, 10, whose parents Bharat and Vaishali Jobanputra formed ‘The Association of Parents Having a Girl Child Only’ to mark her birthday on October 12 here.
And it was pleasant surprise for them when they found 80-odd couples joining as members to work for stopping female foeticide, encourage education of girls and to highlight the importance of daughters.
As far as Palak is concerned, she said, “I will never forget my 10th birthday.” And to show her appreciation, she made a poster saying ‘East or West, Girls are the Best’ and pasted it on the main door of the house.
Talking to TOI, Bharat said, “Often relatives and friends insist on a second child — that too a boy. But my wife Vaishali and I don’t differentiate between girls and boys.”
Jobanputra, a businessman, said, “Encouraged by our friend Meena Dave, we decided to form the association to do something about the skewed male female ratio. No day was as auspicious as our daughter’s birthday.” Vaishali said they had given an advertisement in a local newspaper a week ago and expected a few like-minded couples to come forward. But, to their surprise, as many as 81 parents having only daughters thronged CU Shah Medical Hall from across Surendranagar district. Many have inquired over phone about how to register, she added.
Rahima Kachor, who read the advertisement, coaxed her husband Maheboob to join the association. The couple has two daughters — Khalida (10) and Saniya (5). Maheboob said, “We have no regrets about not having a son. On the contrary, our attempt is to provide the best education to our daughters.” According to him, it was difficult for government employees like him to do social service, but now he could help in spreading awareness about the importance of girl children.
Gynaecologists Vijay and Krishna Rathod have two daughters, Raj and Neel, and they are eagerly waiting for the second meeting of the association after Diwali as they want to work on issues like female foeticide.
Palak with her parents and grandmother
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Surendranagar: It was a different icing on the birthday cake of Palak, 10, whose parents Bharat and Vaishali Jobanputra formed ‘The Association of Parents Having a Girl Child Only’ to mark her birthday on October 12 here.
And it was pleasant surprise for them when they found 80-odd couples joining as members to work for stopping female foeticide, encourage education of girls and to highlight the importance of daughters.
As far as Palak is concerned, she said, “I will never forget my 10th birthday.” And to show her appreciation, she made a poster saying ‘East or West, Girls are the Best’ and pasted it on the main door of the house.
Talking to TOI, Bharat said, “Often relatives and friends insist on a second child — that too a boy. But my wife Vaishali and I don’t differentiate between girls and boys.”
Jobanputra, a businessman, said, “Encouraged by our friend Meena Dave, we decided to form the association to do something about the skewed male female ratio. No day was as auspicious as our daughter’s birthday.” Vaishali said they had given an advertisement in a local newspaper a week ago and expected a few like-minded couples to come forward. But, to their surprise, as many as 81 parents having only daughters thronged CU Shah Medical Hall from across Surendranagar district. Many have inquired over phone about how to register, she added.
Rahima Kachor, who read the advertisement, coaxed her husband Maheboob to join the association. The couple has two daughters — Khalida (10) and Saniya (5). Maheboob said, “We have no regrets about not having a son. On the contrary, our attempt is to provide the best education to our daughters.” According to him, it was difficult for government employees like him to do social service, but now he could help in spreading awareness about the importance of girl children.
Gynaecologists Vijay and Krishna Rathod have two daughters, Raj and Neel, and they are eagerly waiting for the second meeting of the association after Diwali as they want to work on issues like female foeticide.
Palak with her parents and grandmother
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TIMES IMPACT
UN to adopt Gujarat’s ‘girl child’ message
World Body Will Meet Couple Who Gifted An ‘Association’ To Their 10-year-old Daughter
Nayan Dave | TNN
November 4, 2006
First, 80-odd couples joined as members to work against female foeticide, and now the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have invited the couple to explore the possibility of replicating the effort in other states of the country.
They have been invited to a meeting at New Delhi, which will be attended by UN resident co-ordinator Dr Maxine Olson, representatives of various embassies of different countries as well as major international donor agencies like WHO and W o r l d Bank. The Jobanputra family is excited about attending the meeting at the United Nations conference hall at Lodhi Estate in Delhi on Tuesday.
In the two-hour meeting, the Jobanputras will be given 10 minutes to address the gathering and share their experiences. They will also talk about how they went about forming the association and what they plan to do in the future.
UNFPA’s Gujarat state programme director Rajiv Tivari says, “We came to know of the couple through an article in The Times of India. A UN representative then decided to invite the family to the meeting, which will include a screening of the film ‘Gender Blender’ directed by Pujita Chaudhari.”
Encouraged by a friend, the couple decided to form the association on their daughter’s birthday and had invited couples to join them through a newspaper advertisement given a week earlier. They had expected just a handful of couples to turn up, mostly those who had just one daughter. To their surprise, as many as 81 parents from across Surendranagar thronged CU Shah Medical Hall to join them.
Bharat and Vaishali Jobanputra with their daughter Palak (second from right)
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