silent cries: the gendercide in India, a print giveaway and how each of us can make a difference

(It's a Girl-Documentary on the genocide against girls)

When Rita Banerji sent me a link to this clip a few weeks ago, I watched it twice and felt my heart drop. I wanted to bury mySELF with my grief and just...cry. I did cry. Sometimes I feel so hopeles. The U.N. now estimates that over 200 million (yes! 200 MILLION) girls are missing due to sex selective murder. The main culprits? India and China. I wasn't able to write this post until now because I have been alternating between being totally pissed off and utterly in despair. I have written about this issue many times on my blog...here, here and here . So...how can I write about this very same issue, that is only getting worst, in a different way. How can I say something new about this atrocity while still driving home this point right here..girls are being slaughtered in the millions and...nothing is being done! Will anything I say or do...make a difference at all? I have no idea...but here's what I do know.
Gender based violence affects us all. If we don't speak up for these baby girls who are being slaughtered in the tens of millions...who will speak up for us when the time comes? If we don't try to do something, will there be anyone left who will? If we are to raise strong sons and daughters...then we ourSELVES have to be strong. It's not just happening over there, you see. Because, once we become aware of a situation such as this,  if we don't speak out... say something, do something, pray something, act something, fight for something...then it's all happening right here...in our hearts and souls.

(Petals in the Dust-genocide against India's daughters)

I came across this story right here that I want to share with all of you. It's a Japanese parable that activist, Nobel prize winner and all round kick-ass amazing woman Wangari Maathai often quotes.

 "A big fire was destroying the forest. all the animals fled, except the hummingbird. It flew to the river, picked up one drop of water in it's tiny beak, flew back, and poured that drop on the fire. Again and again it returned to the river, each time scooping up a single drop and pouring it on the fire. The other animals watched from the far shore, laughing and mocking. The harder they laughed, the harder the hummingbird worked. "just what do you think you're doing?" the animals asked. Without stopping her work, she answered calmly, "I'm doing what I can." 
" That's all any of us can do: What we can." says Maathai.

(Brave, mixed media archival print)

So dear reader, please go over here to sign the petition against the genocide against girls in India and then leave a comment on my blog or my Facebook page to enter a free print giveaway (any print of your choice from my Etsy shop!). If you would like to read my interview (in 3 parts) with Ms. Banerji, you can go here, here and here.
To find out more about this genocide against India's daughters go here, here or here .
*And spread the word if you can...link up, tweet and FB it...my heart thanks you.

* 50 million missing website

* Rita Banerji's book 

*Rita's blog

Mother India...why are you killing your daughters?

(Shakti, mixed media on canvas, 22' x 30")

Indian Woman: you carry India on your back. You are looked upon with contempt, indignation, misunderstanding. The Western World looks at you as a "third world" statistic-counting your daily caloric intake, your life span, your numbers.
Does anyone hear you, touch you, love you? Does anyone see you picking tea leaves ("For Export Only") under a scorching sun...back bent?
Are you only worth 5 cows, 2 gold bangles and silk sari? An exchange from father to husband?
Indian Woman; you are ripe and raw, you are old and gray. You are worshipped, eroticized, beaten, raped, killed. You are mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, lover, enemy.
You are me. You bear witness to the violence committed against you. You are Mother language speaking the truth.
Indian Woman: true ancient feminist. Full blown Shakti: you carry the whole of India on your back and Her future in your hands. You will rise, like Kali in a rage-and shine like the sun...
I wrote this 4 years ago for my solo exhibition Shakti: Homage to the Indian Woman. Dear readers, there is a time for hope, a time for tears, a time for grace. And... there is a time for full on rage. That time is now!

(3 women, mixed media on canvas, 22 x 30", sold)

“We detest daughters! We hate them so much that we kill them before birth.  And we kill them after birth!  We kill them as they take their first breath.  We kill them while they are suckling infants.  We kill them as they learn to walk.  We kill them as they learn to talk and say ‘mama’ and ‘baba.’ We kill them as they learn to smile and trust, and love, and ask for their favorite foods – mangoes or sweets.  We kill them as they learn to play with their friends, and listen to stories about fairies, princesses, and far away dreams.  We kill them because we hate them.  We kill our daughters in the millions.”  -Rita Banerji from Gender Bytes

India just released the 2011 census and the gender ratio discrepancy is staggering. Girls are being murdered in such large numbers and...nothing is being done about it! Nothing! So you see my dilemma...as it has always been. I have Mother India running in my blood and I love HER with all my being... but I have to face the fact that I come from a society and culture that hates me, murders me, denies me my basic human rights and will do the exact same thing to  my Tara. The silence, denial and sheer ignorance that surrounds this genocide is nothing short of madness.

                                                            (my Tara...precious jewel)
Who will talk for these unborn babies? I will. Who will give voice to their unheard cries? I will. Who will stand up for these most defenceless victims? I will. And you can too. Rita Banerji, who started the 50 million missing campaign, has asked me to be a Voice of the Campaign and I will! If you are interested in the same, please find out how here...all it entails is about an hour or so of your time, speaking at a university or college about this atrocity of untold proportion.
*to sign the petition go here
* to find out more about this atrocity go here or here
*please stop by later on this week when I will be posting part 2 of my interview with Rita Banerji.