To be a girl in Haryana

Every birth is a solemn occasion in Dharuhera. Critical decisions have to be made. Will it be sweets or will it be poison, this time? Ratan Mithai stocks both. The baby wails, the elders put a heavy lid on their emotions before they rush to check what’s between its legs. If it’s a boy, the men take out their desi revolvers and start shooting in the air. A little medal that reads “licensed to thrill” is hung around his lil thingie. If it’s a girl, the women start beating their chests. All sixteen of them, who were allowed to live so that they could cook and bear more sons. Now comes the dilemma. Should we bury her alive, poison her or wring her tiny neck?

A girl is a burden. Who has the money and the patience to nurture her, protect her from fellow wolves, arrange for her dowry and get her married when she barely hits her teens!

Even a buffalo is more pampered than she is.

It’s possible she might live. But only if the father faints after banging his wife’s head against the wall or is too busy milking buffaloes in the shed. If she’s allowed to live, she better uphold her family’s izzat. Look what happened to Renu! That stupid girl had to be burnt alive because she fell in love with a lower caste dog.

Is it fair to burden khap taaus with such life threatening decisions? Especially if that blasted girl is your own granddaughter? What to do. These are but small sacrifices one has to make for family’s honour.
 
And now there just sixteen girls in the town. Sixteen against 1786 men. All of them hormonal. The men I mean. All of them made to believe that they are god’s gift to humanity.

Take Vicky for instance. The village stud. Now this title goes to the most virile. His licensed to thrill organ has travelled far and wide, from village to village. What can you do, when out of the dozen women in your village, two of them are your mother and grandmother and the rest of them are busy looking like boys, wrestling in their father’s akhara! He tried his luck with one but got beaten up so badly that his mojo threatened to divorce him. So, he had no choice but to go the nearest village and rape somebody else’s mother or sister. Kya karein, life is like that only.

Vicky has now set his sights higher. He wants to go to Goodgaon – the mythical city of Apsaras. His cousins Rakesh and Dinesh had told him about this millennium city with no electricity and water. Where girls are not only allowed to be born, but are educated. They find jobs, take care of themselves and also have the permission to have fun. They wear small, small dresses and show cleavage that have no bite marks on them. Kalyug hai, bhai kalyug.

In his village girls are spoilt for choices. They can either get killed, raped, married off at 15 or take to wrestling.

So, he takes Sukhdev chachu’s SUV to Goodgaon. The same SUV that Chachu had bought after selling his farmlands for crores to Vadra Loan Company (VLC). He wears his red satin shirt, imported from Mumbai and keeps six buttons open to show off his thick gold chain on his hairy chest. He wants to make friendship with the loose Apsaras of Goodgaon.

But when he tries to say hello to one of them and pats her bottom, he gets a kick on his balls.

Saali! I am the Prince of Darhuhera. My mother fasted for 15 consecutive Mondays for me. My dad killed two toll attendants to celebrate my birth! You, need to be taught a lesson.

At the Police Station, the girl with torn clothes and haunted eyes is interrogated ruthlessly by the SHO. Police constable, Mangat Ram his chachera chachu, takes him aside and slaps his gelled hair affectionately. Bahut naughty to ha gaya hai tu. Tere liye lagta hai Bangal se biwi mangwani padhegi! (You have become very naughty. Looks like, we’ll have to get a bride for you from Bengal)

To be born a girl in Haryana is an ordeal worse than hell. The Chachu,Taus, Chautalas and Vickys will make sure, when you finally leave for your heavenly abode, you never want to be born again.

Image Courtesy - DailyMail.co.uk