The Deliverer Tishani Doshi What possible meanings are there for the word ‘deliverer’?

Female infanticide What is infanticide? Infanticide is the unlawful killing of very young children. It is found in both indigenous and sophisticated cultures around the world. Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of girl babies. It is also described as gender-selective killing or "gendercide". (Similar words like 'gynocide' and 'femicide' are used to describe the killing of females of any age.) Female infanticide is more common than male infanticide, and in some countries, particularly India and China, is likely to have serious consequences on the balance of the sexes in the population. Anti-female bias Societies that practise female infanticide always show many other signs of bias against females. Women are perceived as subservient because of their role as carers and homemakers, whilst men predominantly ensure the family's social and economic stability.

Family economics Girl babies are often killed for financial reasons. Earning power: Men are usually the main income-earners, either because they are more employable or earn higher wages for the same work, or because they are able to do more agricultural work in subsistence economies. Since male babies have a greater income potential, they are less likely to be killed. Potential pensions: In many societies, parents depend on their children to look after them in old age. But in many of these cultures a girl leaves her parental family and joins her husband's family when she marries. The result is that parents with sons gain extra resources for their old age, when their sons marry, while parents with daughters lose their 'potential pensions' when they marry and move away. This gives parents a strong reason to prefer male children. Some parents (particularly poor ones) who can't afford to support a large family, will kill female babies. Girls are considered a drain on family resources during their childhood without bringing economic benefits later on. Dowry: Some girl babies are killed so that the family doesn't have to pay a dowry when they get married. In Indian society it is tradition for the parents of the bride to give a dowry to the groom and his family. The dowry consists of large amounts of money and valuable goods. For families with several daughters this can be a serious financial burden. Government policy Governmental policies have also increased female infanticide as an unpredicted side-effect. For example, when the Chinese Government introduced a One Child per Family Policy there was a surge in female infanticide. Families needed to have a son because of their higher earning potential, so a girl baby was an economic disaster for them, and there was a strong motive to ensure that girl babies did not survive. Caste Some female infants are killed because they are regarded as being lower in the caste hierarchy than males.

Where does female infanticide occur? Female infanticide is a significant problem in parts of Asia - infanticide does occur in the West, but usually as isolated family tragedies with no underlying pattern or gender bias. India Female infanticide and female foeticide (the selective abortion of girls in the womb) are significant issues in India. Female infanticide has been a problem for centuries, partly as a result of the patriarchal nature of Indian society. Tackling the issue Modern India has tried several ways to tackle the issue. One initiative in the state of Tamil Nadu was taken to attack the underlying economic problems. Where parents had one or two daughters but no son, and either of the parents was willing to be sterilised, the government offered the parents money to help look after the children. This money was to be paid annually throughout the daughter's education, followed by a lump sum on her twentieth birthday, either for use as a dowry or to fund further education.

Origins of infanticide Infanticide occurs in most cases as a way of restricting poverty and population. Throughout history infanticide has been regarded as a productive and efficient way to control starvation and poor standards of living caused by over population. Confucianism The male bias in China is deeply rooted in Chinese traditions which leads parents to want their first child to be a boy. Confucianism regards male children as more desirable since they provide security for the elderly, work and are important for the performance of ancestral rites. Hinduism Hindu authorities condemn infanticide. Son-preference in Hindu cultures is largely based on the fact that men are better providers, and that sons are required for the proper performance of funeral rites.

Sikhism Sikh authorities condemn infanticide. The Sikh religion is one of the most gender-neutral, and explicitly proclaims the equality of men and women. This makes it more surprising that censuses in India show there are far more male children than female children in the Sikh community. In practice there does appear to be a strong preference for boys in the Sikh heartland. The community appears to give greater respect to the parents of boys, and boys themselves. In response the Sikh religious organisation Akal Takht has re-emphasised that women are equal to men. It has banned neo-natal sex identification, selective abortion and the killing of female babies. Islam Islam has always condemned infanticide. Female infanticide was common in pre-Islamic Arabia. However, by the time of Muhammad, and the revelation of the Qur'an female infanticide was strictly forbidden, and regarded as seriously as adult murder. The Qur'an on female infanticide: When the infant girl, is buried alive, is questioned, for what crime she was killed. Surah 81 v 8 - 9 Christianity Christianity has always condemned infanticide. Judaism Judaism has always condemned infanticide.

Initial reading How do your ideas around the meaning of the word ‘deliverer’ compare with the narrative of the poem? What effects do the verbs that relate directly to the girl babies and their mothers have? How does Doshi use the short sentence form to explore the subject? What are the moral implications of the poem? Consider the ‘goodness’ of each character – the mother, the foster parent, the nun, the village men and women.

A closer reading This poems deals with the infanticide of girl babies in India. A series of complex relationships are explored between the narrator, her mother, the foster child and the baby’s new American parents. Who is the narrator? Unspoken relationships echoed in the use of the word ‘sister’ the nun as well as the lost relationship between the narrator and the foster baby. Short sequence form – explores different perspectives. Also suggests shifts in time and place – West/East, developed/developing worlds, fracturing family relationships. Bleak situation reflected in lack of figurative/descriptive language. What strikes you about the use of language? Single syllable verbs emphasise the brutal physicality. New life is reduced to wood, bone, garbage. There is only one emotional outburst, which takes place in America, ‘We couldn’t stop crying’. Why is this? In India the language returns to a kind of numbness as the women go through the motions of sex and birth, ‘Feel for penis or no penis’. These women are seen as being at the mercy of a society which privileges men but they too could be seen as victims, how?

Our Lady of the Light Convent, Kerala The sister here is telling my mother How she came to collect children Because they were crippled or dark or girls. Found naked in the streets, Covered in garbage, stuffed in bags, Abandoned at their doorstep. Pone of them was dug up by a dog, Thinking the head barely poking above ground Was bone or wood, something to chew. This is the one my mother will bring.

Milwaukee Airport, USA The parents wait at the gates Milwaukee Airport, USA The parents wait at the gates. They are American so they know about ceremony And tradition, about doing things right. They haven’t seen or touched her yet. Don’t know of her fetish for plucking hair off hands, Or how her mother tried to bury her. But they are crying. We couldn’t stop crying, my other said, Feeling the strangeness of her empty arms.

The girl grows up on video tapes, Sees how she’s passed from woman to woman To woman. She returns to twilight corners. To the day of her birth, how it happens in some desolate hut Outside village boundaries Where mothers go to squeeze out life, Watch body slither out from body, Feel for penis or no penis, Toss the baby to the heap of others, Trudge home to lie down for their men again.