Andhra Man Poisons 18-Month-Old Dark Skinned Daughter: Chilling Plight Of Girl Child

In a shocking incident, a man poisoned to death his 18-month-old daughter for her dark complexion. Identified as Mahesh from Petasannegandla village in Andhra Pradesh, the man fed poisoned prasadam to the girl child Akshaya and later asked his wife Shravani to say that the baby died after developing seizures. However, the Karempudi police have filed a case against the man and the investigation is ongoing. 

As per the reports, Shravani from Bommarajupalle village married Mahesh three years ago and had a baby girl with him. However, due to the dark complexion, Shravani's husband and in-laws never accepted the baby. They often tortured her for giving birth to a dark-skinned girl. She was kept away from her child. 

However, on March 31, Shravani found her baby unconscious with a bleeding nose. The baby was rushed to the Larempudi government hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors declared that the baby was dead. 

The baby's body was quickly buried without letting any investigation take place. Shravani was asked by Mahesh to lie about Akshaya's death to her relatives. However, Shravani's mother turned suspicious and invoked the interference of the panchayat. 

Later, Shravanni too stepped up and revealed all the details of the abuse and filed a police complaint at the local police station. In the complaint, she said that Mahesh had tried to kill the baby earlier also. He tried to throw her against the wall, locked her in a room and tried to drown her in a tub of water. 

AP State Child Rights Protection Commission, led by chairman Kesali Apparao and member Bathula Padmavati, has also intervened and has ordered a full-scale investigation. The investigation in charge of the case is CI Mallaiah and Akshaya's body has been exhumed for post-mortem. 

The horror of the incident shows the plight of girl child in India

The case sends chills through the body. A baby girl was pointed to death by her own father for being dark-skinned. The girl who was just born became prey to the narrow mindset of society. Of course, in our society, a girl is subjected to patriarchal murder while she is still in the womb. But the ones who get to see the world lose their freedom for being even slightly different from societal expectations. Why is the freedom of girl child so conditioned in our society? Why isn't society still accepting of a girl child without imposing any expectations or restrictions on her? 

Analysing the hatred behind dark-skin

The hatred for dark-skinned girls comes from a society where a Goddess is worshipped for the same colour. It is okay for a Goddess to be dark-skinned but not a woman. Even though the dark skin of Goddess Kali is seen as a part of her rebellious nature, it cannot be denied that people accept it as powerful. So is society rejecting women because they are dark-skinned or because they are rebellious (against the social norms of skin colour)? 

Okay, let's keep the religious angle aside. Shaming and even killing girls for their dark skin is not an Indian mindset. It is an idea borrowed by the British people who ruled and colonised us for years. British people brought in the fetish for the fair-skinned and hatred for the dark-skinned. British people, who were majorly white, ruled over Indians, who had comparatively darker skin colour. 

But today, after more than 75 years of independence, why are we still colonised by such derogatory mindsets of the British? Why don't we accept that wheatish or dark skin is the natural colour of Indians? Even if some people vary, does it negate the existence of the others? 

The obsession with skin colour is so deep-rooted that even educated minds are not free of colourism. It is practised in wealthy families, by students and even by educational institutions. What can we expect from villages in India?

Stop seeing girl child as bride

Women, since the time they are born, as seen as prospective brides. This is why the families criticise their looks since childhood and try to correct it. Marriage markets outright reject women who are dark-skinned, taking away the sole medium of security for such women. 

But you know what? Dark-skinned or not, women have brains and the right to empowerment. So rather than obsessing over skin colour, empower your daughters so that they are never dependent on society's acceptance to live a secured, safe and happy life. 

Views expressed are the author's own.