Haryana girls fight to rid themselves of name bias

CHANDIGARH: What do you do when your parents give you a name that suffocates you? You would prefer to slink away into the shadows rather than answer a simple question like, “What is your name, girl?”
The practice of embarrassing names is common in Haryana — a state infamous for having the worst child sex ratios in the country. The rule is simple in many families — if you have an unwanted daughter, give her a name that will become a noose around your neck.
For instance, meet Dhapan, 16, a Class X student and a national volleyball player. The youngest among three sisters, her name means “we had enough (of girls)”. Although many like Dhapan fight to create an identity away from their names, there is now hope for them.
Women activists have launched a campaign offering better names to them. “We have named Dhapan as Akanksha,” says Shakuntala Jakhar, a women’s activist from Hisar.
Resident of Kaimari village in Hisar, Dhapan is excited about her new name. “I like this new name,” Dhapan says. “Because of so many daughters, my grandmother named me Dhapan.”
Jakhar, who is president of Haryana unit of the All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), adds, “We tell parents to give nice names to their daughters. We ask them to change the name on the spot and in many cases, they agree. Parents take all care while naming their sons Sher Singh, Jagat Singh, Chandagi Ram and Suraj Mal, but daughters don’t get such privileges.”
A woman called Bhateri from Jawahar Nagar locality of Hisar is now called as Bharti. She has become a woman activist and is encouraging others to change their names if they feel ashamed.
Sumitra Devi, who runs NGO Bharatiya Foundation says that the situation has started changing with many parents opting for new names for girls like Neha, Priti, Avani and Diya.
However, it’s not easy for those girls whose embarrassments have been recorded in the government birth registers. “Officials told us that Dhapan won’t be given her sports scholarship if we changed her name. They say that the new name won’t match with the official records,” says her father Surajbhan, a watchman in a private school.
Director general of Haryana health services D P Lochan admits that there is no provision of changing the name once it is registered by the health officials. “In our records, we can just make addition in the name like Bhateri alias Bharti,” Lochan adds.
Jakhar suggests that the government must amend the rules to give the right to the girls to change their names at the time of admission in schools.