Just when you think your life is rotten

Ever have those days, when you feel really crappy, like nothing is ever going to go right for you? I've had way too many days like that.

But just when the pity party has been going on for awhile, I read an article in the newspaper or on-line, and it puts my life in perspective. Because as crappy as I may think my life is, there's someone out there who's life really is horrible.

Just yesterday, I read an article in, I think it was Glamour Magazine, about how women are either being forced to abort female fetuses or they feel they have no choice because the pressure to have a son is so intense.

Yes, here we are in the 21st century, and there are still cultures and societies that don't value women apart from the reproductive process. Granted, this isn't all of India, but it appears to be something that is prevalent in Hindu culture, where there is still a strong class system, and women need a dowry in order to be married. Consider, if you have 5 daughters, that's 5 doweries that you have to provide.

Sons meanwhile inherit the property and are entrusted with taking care of their elderly parents. So which do you want to have, particularly if you aren't particularly well off? Why a son of course. One man in the article actually boasted that his wife had had 15 abortions, and given him 6 sons.

Basically what happens, is that once a couple finds out from the ultrasound, what they are having, they schedule an abortion if it's a girl. Even though it's technically illegal to have an abortion soley because you're not happy with what you are having. It's enough to make you cry for the lives that have been lost, and I'm pro-choice. I've always felt that if you are not ready to have a child or you've been raped or it's a danger, then abortion is your choice. But this isn't right.

Apparently, it's gotten so bad in some regions, that women are being kidnapped from other regions to be wives, because there is a shortage of women. Fortunately, there are people who are working to stop this practice. And I want to reiterate that this isn't happening all over India, but in select states or regions.

Still, how can I be too upset over a rejection letter?

Thanks for reading!
EKM