Mitu Khurana
Dr. Mitu Khurana is a pediatrician from Delhi, India. She is an activist against female feticide in India. Her case became well-known when she took legal action against her husband and his family on accusations of performing an ultrasound to reveal the gender of their children without her consent, pressuring her to abort their two daughters once gender was known, and domestic violence after she refused to consider sex-selective abortion.
Dr. Mitu Khurana | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Pediatrician |
| Known for | Activist against sex-selective abortion of females and taking legal action against ex-husband and family |
Biography
Khurana first entered mainstream media coverage when she initiated landmark legal action against her ex-husband and his family in 2008.[1]
Khurana claims the gender of her children with then-husband Dr. Kamal Khurana was determined without her consent and the knowledge was later used against her to pressure her to have a sex-selective abortion against her will. In January 2005, her husband and his family took Khurana to the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi for stomach pain. There, her husband and his family allegedly worked with hospital staff to arrange an ultrasound without her consent.
After the hospital visit, her husband and his family began to pressure her to seek abortion. "They didn't say anything to me, but afterwards it was clear that my husband and my in-laws knew that I was carrying girls," Khurana said. "After that, they began badgering me to have at least one of them killed. They told me we could not bring up two girls, we would not be able to afford to get them married."[2] Upon returning home, she faced domestic abuse by her husband and his parents. At one point during pregnancy, her husband pushed her down a flight of stairs to induce a miscarriage. After, he locked her in a room without medication or food, where she then slipped into severe depression.[3]
Eventually, Khurana escaped her husband and his family, and returned to live with her parents. She later gave birth to her twin daughters two months premature.[4]
References
- Khare, Vineet (8 October 2015). "India activist to fight sex determination ruling". bbc.com. BBC Online. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Chamberlain, Gethin (23 November 2008). "Where a baby girl is a mother's awful shame". theguardian.com. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Morrison, Sarah; Buncombe, Andrew (11 August 2013). "'My husband tried to force me to abort my twin girls': Doctor's charge inflames India's fight for gender equality". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Izri, Touria. ""It's a Girl" documentary explores gendercide in China and India | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 22 March 2019.