What attitude towards abortion comes across in this section, and what does it say about Indian society
- it seems as if abortion is a very common thing in India. You can see this in the story when Maji tells the narrater that “all the midwives in town would come to me to offer their services”. (p. 127 ll. 30). Maji herself was a midwive too, so she also offers her help in the form og an abortion.
- it is said that an abortion often is “the only way to save people from dishonour and suffering” (p.129 ll. 8), because illegitimated children are proscribed (verpönt)
- In India many girls are aborted purposeful (up to 10 million in the last two decades and 500.000 per annum), because boys continue the family honour, usually earn money and care for their parents when they’re old, whereas the girls leave the home when they marry and on top of that have to be equiped (jmd mit etw ausstatten) with a dowry for the marriage.
- abortions are more often made in wealthy regions than in meager ones
- new measure of the government: pregnant women have to sign, that they won’t ask for the baby’s sex, so that they haven’t the chance to abort the baby if it is a girl
useful link:
http://www.3sat.de/3sat.php?http://www.3sat.de/nano/news/87449/index.html
