Wings of an angel
Fatima, otherwise also known as Sabeena, is 3 years old now. Born in the slums of Subash Gram in Kolkata, (an area in West Bengal), she is a playful child like any other of her age.
But what sets her apart from other children is the fact that she had been discarded by her parents when she was just a month old. Doomed to death because she was born a girl child, Fatima’s parents left her outside the door or another family living in the same area.
Her parents already had a daughter earlier and when Fatima was born, she became a curse for her them. Fatima’s father used to come home drunk every night and beat her up, cursing her for being a girl. For days this continued. Her mother, who works as a maid in the local areas, was also not interested in raising the baby as she wanted a boy.
The poor family living in the same locality, who found Fatima crying in front of their door in the middle of the night, brought her inside their slum house, to feed her and protect her. Rabia, who is now 18 years old, took up the initiative to raise Fatima, hoping to give her a better life.
Rabia used to live with her parents in the footpaths of Kolkata 2/3 year back. After her father expired, Rabia and her family shifted to a slum house, as it was getting difficult to live in the pavements with no security or stability.
There were many instances, when anyone and anybody tried to molest Rabia and her sister Gulsan at night. Even after shifting to Subhash Gram, Rabia and her family live under utter financial crisis, making it extremely difficult for them to make ends meet.
Rabia has four brothers and six sisters. Her father had two marriages and the children belong to two mothers. Her elder brother runs a van but does not make any financial contribution to help Rabia’s family.
Rabia’s younger brothers do make-shift jobs to gather some money to run their family. But not to much avail. Rabia and her family are mostly depended on alms they get from people in cash or kind, surviving on one meal a day.
During monsoons now, when their house is flooded, they are forced to live in pavements, along with Fatima. They make makeshift shelters with plastics and beg from home to home for some food for the family. Even under the extreme situations in which Rabia and her family live, they made an attempt to help the child which proves that humanity exists under any kind of situation.
When Rabia’s family came upon Fatima, their heart melted. Rabia and her family became a blessing in disguise for Fatima, feeding her milk and wishing to give her a better life. Their own lives had taught them the lesson to attempt to do so.
At a time when much awareness is being created on saving or protecting the girl child, Fatima’s case is a striking example of the loopholes in our society for girl children.
Some offers have come to Rabia’s family for the adoption of Fatima, but Rabia refused, doubting the intentions of the people who wanted to adopt her. Fatima is 3 years old now and has become an integral part of Rabia’s family.
