There has been a gradual rise in the number of abandoned babies admitted at various hospitals in Kashmir. Although childless couples have come forward and adopted these infants, the trend is a severe indictment of our declining morality, SYED ASMA reports.
Nayeema is basking in happiness these days. Wearing a traditional Salwar-Kurta, she has come to Srinagar’s GB Panth hospital for a medical check-up of her daughter, Farzana, whom she adopted recently. Some days ago, Farzana was abandoned by her biological parents at the hospital but she has now found a family; Nayeema and her husband, Fayaz, who live in Lar village of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
Farzana was found wrapped in a blanket by a security guard inside the hospital in wee hours of Sept 15. “Most unclaimed and abandoned babies land in this hospital since this is a children’s hospital and babies are treated well here,” deputy medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Muhammed Salim Khan says.
The doctors and police were not able to trace the biological parents of Farzana and it was assumed that she was abandoned because of her birth defect; Farzana was born with a cleft lip and palate which, the doctors say, can be corrected by a surgery.
“A defected girl is hardly accepted by our society. Maybe her parents knew the consequences of her existence and disowned her. However, this practice should not be encouraged,” Dr Khan says.
In the history of GB Panth hospital, a number of abandoned babies have been found. But almost all of them were adopted. The childless couples are always eager to get these babies home and fill the void in their lives, Zamrooda, a senior nurse at G B Panth hospital says.
Zamrooda has been associated with the hospital for the past 25 years. “In all these years, I have taken care of countless abandoned babies. Importance of these babies is just known to a married woman who doesn’t have children of her own. I have seen those women crying and fighting to adopt the babies who are disowned by their parents,” she says.
In Kashmir, local orphanages do not entertain abandoned and unclaimed babies. “We cannot do this as this practice of abandoning children should in no way be encouraged. Our resistance is our protest against the practice!” says Zahoor Ahmed Tak, patron, J&K Yateem Trust.
Farzana is now almost a month old. She spent 13 days at the hospital during which many NGO’s and missionaries from India approached the hospital to adopt her. But the hospital authorities were looking for some local assistance.
“I had miscarriage once and unhealthy babies were born on two occasions who could not survive,” says Nayeema regretfully. The charm returns on her face as she looks at Farzana, who is resting under the shade of her dupatta.
Nayeema says Farzana was an answer to her rigorous prayers all these years. “I knew something of this sort would happen. Few nights before we adopted her, I saw a dream in which I was given two coconuts,” she smiles and kisses Farzana.
“She seems so beautiful to me,” Nayeema says as she looks at Farzana, “She is a blessing. I dream of seeing her grow as a healthy child. Other minor things [cleft lip and palate] would be taken care of,” she says. Farzana is getting restless. She hasn’t slept well for two consecutive nights but the doctors have told Nayeema that she was fine and it would take her time to adjust to a new home.
Like Farzana, a number of abandoned babies were found at G B Panth hospital. Ishrat was abandoned by her biological parents at G B Panth hospital this year. She was hastily handed over to a nurse by an unknown lady. “She said she will complete the formalities and will be back in a minute. But she never returned,” the nurse says.
For some days, Ishrat was lying unclaimed at the hospital. A childless couple then approached the authorities and adopted her. “It has been a few months since we adopted her. She is just like our own daughter and we don’t like to talk about it (adoption) much,” says Nafisa, Ishrat’s foster mother. Nafisa too had come to GB Panth hospital to get a regular check-up of Ishrat done.
Many childless couples have approached the hospital after the news of abandoned babies was picked up by the media. “It is now that media is noticing these babies. But the trend is very old. Earlier, we used to spread the news of these infants through a word of mouth and mostly our acquaintances and friends were benefited,” says Naseer, a helper at one of the government hospitals.
But what drives the parents to abandon their children, even if they carry birth defect? It must take a lot of courage and a strong reason to disown one’s own child. “I don’t believe that any parent can disown their child, no matter how many disabilities he or she has. Being a parent completes the life of a married couple. So one needs strong reasons to disown ones baby,” Zamrooda, the nurse, says. Earlier, only girls were found abandoned but now we also find boys lying unclaimed and abandoned, she says.
In a patriarchal society like Kashmir, the societal circumstances arising out of bearing the burden of raising multiple daughters forces the parents, especially those with limited financial resources, to disown their daughter if they already have one. But a rise in the number of abandoned infant boys is mystifying. “The parents must have strong reasons to abandon a son, very strong reasons,” says Dr Khan, deputy MS, GB Panth.
This year, almost equal number of boys and girls were lying unclaimed at different places in Kashmir. Most of the times, these babies were not in a good condition. “A pre-term baby was found wrapped in a gunny bag in a corridor. A helping staff member found the baby while cleaning the corridor. It was a baby boy,” a doctor at a government-run hospital says.
“The umbilical cord of the baby was cut in such a manner that we could easily make out that whole process of delivering the baby was done in an unprofessional way. We could not save the baby as he had suffered huge blood loss,” the doctor says.
Most of these abandoned babies are children born to couples who are not married, says a gynaecologist. “The rate of illegal abortions across valley has increased. This is done clandestinely in government hospitals as well as private clinics. Many have been caught but in absence of strict action, the practise only continues,” she says. “We have many times seen babies, mostly pre-term, in dust bins,” says a nurse at a maternity hospital of Kashmir.
Recently, an infant was handed over by a police party from Pulwama to the doctors at GB Panth. The infant was found in thorny bushes and he had cuts and injuries all over his body, “His condition was critical and he had spent a night in open while it was raining,” the nurse says.
In absence of a thorough police investigation and any concrete data, the hospital authorities say most abandoned babies are born to unmarried girls. Doctors and paramedics at various hospitals use a simple trick to identify them. A senior nurse explains, “An unmarried girl is at the most accompanied by her mother, sometimes not even her. In most cases, they do not carry their case histories like details of previous check-ups with them. They want to do everything secretively and are very reluctant to go for cesarean, even if normal delivery is risky,” she says. The doctors say it was not their job to verify if the girl was married or not. “We are mostly concerned about saving a life and that is what we do,” a doctor says.
Sociologists say the changing social structure is responsible for “shameful” incidents like these. They say the family as an institution is crumbling in the face of development and as a result our social fibre has become weak.
“Today the normative structures of the families have changed and weakened which has given space for extra marital affairs and illicit relationships. Adults as well as teenagers are equally involved,” says Dr Peerzada Mohammed Amin, Department of Sociology, University of Kashmir.
He said the teenagers exploit the unnecessary freedom, overexposure and less accountability which is responsible for this menace. Parents have become insensitive and do not pay proper attention to their children, he added.
Prior to the eruption of militancy, there was some set up in the society that would take care of the abandoned babies. Dr Shanta Sanyal, wife of a non local photographer, was running an NGO in Shivpora that would normally get all the abandoned babies, both males and females. She would take these babies to the home she had set up and bring them up for adoption. The NGO was well introduced in the society to the extent that sometimes the people were dropping babies at her doorstep.
However, it stopped functioning soon after the militancy broke out creating a gulf which is yet to be filled. With rising incidents of unclaimed babies, many questions arise about this growing menace in a Muslim majority place like Kashmir. There are no easy answers.
(Some names have been changed)
