Girl-child brings not only joy but gold in this town!
Even as India's sex-ratio and gender-gap continue to worsen, a small town in Kerala's Muslim-majority Malappuram is making efforts to promote the girl child. In Kottakkal, girls not only bring joy but also, gold thanks to municipal councilor Abdul Raheem. For nearly two years now, Raheem has been celebrating the birth of girl-children in his ward by gifting gold-coins to their mothers. Know more!
"Can we imagine a world without girls?"
Raheem, father of a four-year-old girl, said: "I have seen people cursing the birth of girls. 'No, not again' is the common refrain in many families. But most of them are not aware they are the real wealth. Can we imagine a world without them?"
Not doing this for publicity, says Raheem
In these two years, Raheem gifted one-gram gold-coins to 16 mothers in his municipal-ward. Some parents call him from hospital to announce the good news, and Raheem presents them with a gold-coin almost in no time. He plans to double the gold weight to two grams. Many jewelers also offered to sponsor gold-coins, but Raheem declined as he didn't want to commercialize the initiative.
Our attitude towards girl child should change: Raheem
Municipal Councilor Abdul Raheem said: "In all religions and scriptures, girls find a prime place. But in real life, the situation is quite different." He added: "Even in birth, they face severe discrimination and neglect. Our attitude should be changed."
Where does he get the funds from?
Raheem said he gets a sitting allowance of Rs. 8,000-10,000 per month as he is a councilor. He added one-gram gold coin costs around Rs. 2,500, and he can "afford to spare" his salary for the initiative. Raheem also said he joined politics not to make money but to serve people. He is from a business-owning family that runs pharmaceutical and ayurvedic companies.
Raheem to organize mega function soon
Raheem is planning to organize a function to honor the mothers of girls in his ward soon. One of the mothers, Jaseena Rehman, said, "Such initiatives will help remove barriers in the society." She was the first one to receive a gold-coin two years ago.
