A mentally retarded and unmarried girl of Deogarh district gave birth to a girl child in a paddy field. By the grace of God, both mother and child were alright although the delivery took place in an unhygienic condition. The ASHA and Anganwadi worker rushed to the spot on being informed.
As per information, a mentally retarded girl of Mushakani village in Deogarh district was a victim of sexual harassment by a youth of the neighbouring village. When the symptom of pregnancy was found in her, the family members were panicked for the social stigma. However, the Asha Karmi Parimesti Dehuri and Angaanwadi Didi laxmipriya Pradhan took every care of the girl. They also gave medicines required for a pregnant woman.
And, in early morning of Thursday, the unwed girl gave birth to a female child in a paddy field near her home. All her three brothers got worried for such unusual incident in the family. For social reasons, they were not ready to accept her. Since, the Anganwadi Didi and the Asha Karmi were aware of the matter earlier, they rushed to the spot and rescued both the mother and child. These two women with help of other villagers and the Swasthakarmi brought the mother and the child to the hospital in Deogarh where the child is in the SNCU ward.
The officials of the district child protection committee including district child protection officer (DCPO) Romeo Mohapatra also came to the hospital to take care of the duo.
At the other side, the brothers of the victim girl were in a Catch-22 situation as their sister was unwed and social shame is a factor for the poor middle class family.
“However, after counselling from the district officials of the child protection department, they have finally agreed to keep their sister and niece with them,” informed DCPO Romeo Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, social activists of the district demanded necessary action against the culprit responsible for the pregnancy of the victim girl.