Santa Clara University

Organization: Aarti Home (India)
Graduation Year: 2008
Entry Title: The Beginning to an End to Female Foeticide
Download the PDF: Learn more about how Sandhya and Aarti Home are working endlessly to ensure that women survive and are empowered to exercise choices over their lives.

Entry Description:
My fight against female infanticide and abandonment began 20 years ago with a single abandoned girl. I took her home, called on friends, and started Aarti Home.

Since then, Aarti has provided safe shelter for over one thousand children. Through Aarti School and outreach programs, thousands more were inspired to attend schools and are now looking forward to a better future.

In 2008, I participated in the Women Leaders for the World (WLW) program in the U.S., wanting to understand and address the root cause of the problem. How could a mother abort her unborn girl or abandon her to die? We learned that independent and empowered mothers don’t abandon their children. As a result, we initiated Aarti livelihood programs. The 5,000 women trained through these Aarti programs support and educate their children. They are change agents empowering other women.

Earlier this year (2012), we launched a statewide initiative where gynecologists, educators and government officials signed a pledge promising to honor the life of the girl child.

Aarti Home's actions were validated in the 2011 census. While the national girl child ratio dipped from 985 to 914, it remained stable in the region where we work. Also every girl in our area now attends school!

We still have 40 million girls missing in India. However, I believe that, ending female foeticide and infanticide has been transformed from a problem to a possibility.