Father kills newborn daughters

Shortly after the birth of the twin girls, Anwar left the house with the babies, ostensibly to take them to be blessed by a local imam. Waking up in the middle of the night, perhaps with a premonition of foreboding, Nazma started to cry for her daughters, setting in motion a search of the neighbourhood, which discovered them buried in the Anwar family graveyard. Anwar has not been heard from since.

There is no use asking what could possibly motivate someone to commit such a barbaric act on his own flesh and blood. The motive for the infanticide seems distressingly clear. Anwar had two daughters and had been hoping for a son. He did not feel equal to the task of raising four daughters.

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There can be no words harsh enough to condemn a man who murders his own new-born children in cold blood. The callousness, cruelty, and inhumanity of the act are sickening and shocking. But the sin is not that of Anwar Hossain alone. We should take this opportunity to reflect on our own culpability as a society and examine our own cultural beliefs and values that might have, in even a small way, contributed to this appalling act.

The fact is that the status of women in Bangladesh remains unacceptably low. We have not done nearly enough to bring female education and opportunities up to the standard of men and women continue to remain oppressed, repressed and marginalised by society. In so many ways we reinforce the belief that women are of less value and importance than men. Parents routinely celebrate the birth of boys and are disappointed to have girls.

It is this attitude that must be changed if we are to avoid more tragedies like that of Nazma and her baby girls.