In Himali district of Karnali Province, the gender discrimination still prevails. If boy is born, there will be a big festival within the family along with feast however no one celebrates if girl is born. There has been no such effect on people in this area despite of state being negative on gender discrimination issue.
Karishma Buda of Jumla Patarasi Rural Municipality-8 gave a birth to a baby boy in birthing center of Chumchaur Health Post. After giving a birth to a boy, her relatives celebrated the occasion by putting vermilions to each other. There is a trend of spending thousands of money to celebrate the birth of a baby boy after 11 days. In contrast, people becomes sad if the baby girl is born and they do not even look after the post natal mother.
Similarly, last week, Saraswoti Kami gave a birth to a baby girl in Dilli Chaur Patasi Rural Municipality-4. After giving a birth, the post natal mother was taken back to her house in hurry. There was no such celebration and everyone was having a pale face.
Vice president Bishnu maya Buda of Tila Rural municipality said that even an educated family are active on aborting baby if it is identified as a baby girl through video X-ray.
She said “ even an educated people are doing such thing”. Most of the people who are having second baby identifies the gender through X-ray and abort if it is a baby girl, she added. It is illegal to abort baby however it is still rampant in our society.
Pushe Nepali, 65 of Tila Rural Municipality-3, Phyalwada got married at the age of 14. After one year of his marriage his wife gave a birth to baby girl Kamla. In a second attempt, she again gave a birth to a baby girl. In hope of having a baby boy, he has 11 daughters now. Because of having too many children, he could not groom them properly and three of them died. Put of 8 remaining daughters, 4 got married and four are with him.
In Jumla, the trend of polygamy is also increasing due to the same reason. If the first wife fails to give birth to a baby boy, there is a trend to marry second wife. To give a baby boy has become a dignity among the people of this area. The tend of polygamy is increasing despite of operating various awareness program according to right activists Bhagwati Shrestha.