In Harayana, A Woman Murdered Her Four Minor Daughters Because She Was Frustrated She Couldn’t Have A Son

Every day I feel so grateful to be born into a family that does not treat me like I am ‘paraya dhan’. That’s the term used to describe daughters in this country, isn’t it? While sons are treated like kings and put on a pedestal so high they might just reach the top of the Burj Khalifa, daughters are looked at as nothing more than loose ends and an added expense. Even our society’s norms dictate that the birth of a son is to be celebrated while, in most cases, the birth of a daughter leads to her being murdered before she is old enough to walk. It disgusting and shameful but that’s the way the cookie crumbles, it has for generations. It all sounds extremely archaic, doesn’t it? Well, unfortunately, it isn’t. States like Haryana top the list. In fact, a few months ago, a woman murdered her four minor daughters because she was disappointed over not having any sons. She has just been arrested. It’s yet another rapidly growing problem that is being blatantly overlooked.

In November 2020, this woman identified as Farmeena slit the throats of her four daughters, Muskan, Miskina, Alshifa and Arbina using a kitchen knife. She was frustrated over not being able to bear a male child and that’s what drove her to commit this ghastly act. According to reports, the oldest daughter was six-years-old while the youngest was a one-year-old. After mercilessly murdering her children, Farmeena tried to stab herself and sustained serious injuries. She has confessed to the murders and has been arrested now, after all these months.

The accused identified as Farmeena was admitted to hospital as she tried to kill herself after allegedly killing her four minor daughters in November 2020.https://t.co/ob7qQUKBPA

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) February 10, 2021

Also Read: Inside Haryana’s Bride-Buying Culture: A Cow Will Cost You More Than A Woman

The murders and Farmeena’s attempted suicide came to light when her husband, the father of the victims, Khurshid returned home on 26 November to find the doors locked from inside. No matter how loudly he knocked, there was no answer. After a while, he peeped into the house and saw his children and wife lying in pools of blood. Farmeena was still breathing and hence was rushed to the hospital. In his statement, Khurshid also mentioned that Farmeena’s mental health was weak because she was “disturbed” over not having any sons.

Reports quoted the Nuh Police spokesperson as saying, “The complainant found the bodies of his two older daughters on one bed and of his younger daughters on the other. His wife was lying injured in the room; she had tried to stab herself to death after slitting their throats.”

It’s incidents like this that remind me that sometimes, women are each other’s worst enemies. How does a mother not understand that children are all the same? Gender doesn’t matter. Being a woman herself, how did Farmeena even think of murdering her daughters? Maybe it’s classical conditioning but this vicious murder has brought our society’s prevalent mentality to the forefront. Let’s just hope that we can spread enough awareness, knowledge and empowerment to stop crimes like this from happening.

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/in-haryana-30000-girls-got-to-live-even-after-illegal-sex-determination-was-done/