Thursday, Feb 27, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By Preethi Chandrasekar
Meenakshi from Maruthampatti has been one of the many beneficiaries of this positive change. Mother of three daughters, this Maruthampatti Mahalir Manram member has written a success story of survival with the support of other women members. When Meenakshi delivered her second daughter, she was under tremendous pressure to "get rid of it". But the SHG members formed a support group of sorts and convinced the family members against killing or abandoning the child. A similar problem arose when Meenakshi gave birth to her third daughter, Mahalakshmi. Once again the manram members helped Meenakshi to keep the child. "We keep monitoring houses of pregnant SHG members. The moment we find out a girl child has been delivered, we rush to the woman's side, lending physical and moral support, and prevent the family from deciding the infant's fate," said a senior member. The members also counsel the family, especially the mother. Meenakshi has availed herself a loan of Rs.5,000 through the manram, whose group savings are about Rs.45,000. She has bought a cow and sells milk. Her eldest daughter, Rajeswari, (16) works as an agricultural labourer, while her two younger sisters attend school, thanks to a sponsorship by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, an NGO that has helped bring down incidence of female infanticide to a great extent in the taluk. "Consistent efforts have helped to mobilise SHG women members to resist pressure from family members to get rid of their female child," stated Valli Annamalai, secretary, the Madurai wing of the ICCW. Providing economic stability is a key factor, says Pramil Kumar, ICCW project director. The ICCW provides assistance for the girl child's education and later for her vocational training.
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