By: Adithi.S.Avadhani

Edited by: Saarth

MOSQUITOS!

What an insufferable thing!

That annoying Pest! Sucking the blood of you and all the rest!

You spray, you swat, but all is for naught,

that annoying insect makes your family distraught!

They say the most annoying parasite is the mosquito, causing you to itch until your skin turns red, your blood boiling with frustration, as it annoyingly buzzes in your ears, while you try to sleep, and the final straw is when you finally catch the wretched thing, only for it to flutter away, moments later. Yet mosquitos have a purpose, they have a role.

They pollinate flowers and play a vital role in the ecosystem, yet masses of people fail to see their significance, turning a blind eye to the benefits they provide, while opting to only see the negatives in them. But these tendencies do not end at mosquitoes alone, but rather at other aspects of the Homo-sapiens lives, like women. Openly humiliated, to be lesser than the opposite sex.

To be treated as a "nagging" housewife, buzzing constantly in your ear. But, so curious is the fact that, if she conforms to societal expectations,

she changes species!

From a mosquito, she gets promoted, to a less annoying butterfly. Yet still the status of an insect.

"waaaaah! waaaaah!" The doctor turns to the expectant, new father, who had a smile on his lips, waiting excitedly. The doctor was not pleased, and with a solemn stare, as if declaring the newborn dead, said, “I'm sorry, but it's a girl.” The whole room went quiet. The atmosphere became grim. The father's proud smile and a twinkle in his eyes disappeared. He knew he couldn't afford another daughter, who would pay for her marriage? So, with a dark look in his eyes, he took the new child from the doctor's arms and headed outside. There were moans and wails from the mother, begging and pleading with her husband to give her her baby. The father does not want this child, and he intends on killing her. This is illegal, (Female Infanticide Prevention Act 1870),

he doesn't care, he has to kill her.

From the moment you are born, you will always be known as inferior. Society dictates your path in life, with no expectations of a job, nor higher education.

This baby girl was spared; however, countless others are slaughtered on a daily basis. The new parents named her “Laxmi", meaning the goddess of wealth, hoping, and expecting her to bring wealth to the family. Laxmi was an excellent student and did very well in school.

However, she doesn't get any acknowledgment of her accomplishments from her parents. At the age of 15, in merely the 10th grade, she was pulled from school, regardless of how much she protested. She was taught the basics of how to be a good housewife. Her parents found a suitor for Laxmi, who was 45 years old, old enough to be her father. Nevertheless, she got married the next year, despite the fact that in India, children under the age of 18 cannot be married (PCMA, Child Marriage Act, 2006). Regardless, she got married, and within a few months, her husband became abusive. His lashes, becoming an almost everyday occurrence, causing her to bleed, his verbal insults, kept ringing in her ears, while all her inlaws would do is encourage him. In a

few months, Laxmi became pregnant. Her in-laws were overjoyed, yet, Laxmi was not ready. Nevertheless, she could not take contraceptives, because everyone in her village would call her a "witch".

Laxmi, not wanting to take his abuse, contacted her parents, who swiftly declined to bring her home.

On the day of the delivery, Laxmi delivered her baby at home, because she was underage. So, after barely surviving her arduous Labour, she gives birth......

to a healthy baby girl.

Both her family, her in-laws, and her husband are disgraced, and the same cycle repeats, her husband does not treat her baby like his own. After about a year of torment, she decided to file a complaint to the police. The police do nothing, and, despite her pleas, quieten her, while berating her character.

It had turned out that her in-laws had paid those very same policemen. Once that avenue had also failed, Laxmi was stuck.

She is now a teen mother, caring for a young girl at the age of eighteen, all the while having an abusive, drunk husband to handle. Divorce is not even a concept known to Laxmi, because, "what will everyone else think?" What can she do? Get a job?

Well, she doesn't even have a high school education, so the only jobs that she would be able to get are menial, low-paying jobs, like a housemaid or a construction worker. Besides, she might not even be able to work as her husband might forbid her.

There are thousands if not millions of Laxmis in India, all of them beaten into submission. They are unable to speak out against their abusive husbands and all because society is not willing to let that happen. One-fourth of India is still illiterate, and even more, have been given as child brides.

All these Laxmis will die, knowing that their childhood dreams were snatched due to societal expectation and they will die, not being able to achieve what they wanted to achieve in this world. They will live with the guilt that “If I had just spoken up, maybe things would be different".

Despite the fact that the Indian government has made various schemes, without proper implementation of laws, corruption in the legal system, and with the current legal system not being accessible to the illiterate and poor, more and more Laxmis will meet the same fate that you read today.