indian council of medical research - Pondicherry University DSpace ...

The fo//owing were some of the statements made in this regard:-
1. "A boy will carry on the family name" (A 30 year old man in an in-depth
~nte~ew).Several people expressed a s~milar new.
2. "A son will do the funeral rites when we are dead" (A 40 year old woman in an
In-depth inte~ew)
3. "In old age we can go and stay w~th our son even if it is a small house" (A 36
year old man In a group d~scuss~on)
4. "It Is very expensive to have a girl. Wm hmvm to givm her dowry. Than
childbirth. If her husband is not all right she will come home crying and we
have to look after. Lifelong there will be one expense after another. If it is one
girl we can manage. More than that is very diicuit" (A 40 year old man In a
group discuss~on).
5. "These days only girls look after parents. I am now looking after my mother. I
am sure in my old age my daughter will look after me. If I fall sick, is my
daughter-in-law going to nurse me?" (A 32 year old woman In an In-depth
interview)
6. "What does it matter whether it is boy or girl. Nowadays both go out and earn"
(A 33 year old woman In an tn-depth inte~ew).
Case Study
Neelavathy was a 50 year old widow. Her family was one of the families ~ncluded in the
cohort. She had two sons and a daughter. All of them were mamed. She was an
agricultural laborer and so were her sons. Her sons were staylng separately as she
had fought with them. She was staying with her mother along wiVl her daughtets son
who was studying in Kedar. She had borrowed Rs.20,000 for her younger sons
wedding and both tlie sons refused to help her pay back the loan. Her eldest son had
3 daughters. The first daughter was 4 years old and the second, thtrd were tWlnS.
Neela\ rthy's daughter-in-law was very unhappy about havlng twin g~rls. So she