This photo tells a story that gives me joy for the girls shown. According to
MSNBC's photoblog (where this photo comes from), 285 girls hav been able to change their names from Nakusa to something far better.
The girls hold up their name change certificates during a ceremony in Satara, some 250kms from Mumbai, on Oct. 22. Girls named "Unwanted" by their parents are to get new names this weekend as part of a campaign to tackle bias against women that has led to the country's huge gender imbalance. The girls named "Nakusa", which means "unwanted" in the local Marathi language of western Maharashtra state, got rid of their first name for good under an initiative in the district of Satara.
In shedding names like some girls chose to name themselves after Bollywood stars like "Aishwarya" or Hindu goddesses like "Savitri." Some just wanted traditional names with happier meanings, such as "Vaishali" or "prosperous, beautiful and good."
"Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me this new name, and that makes me very happy," said a 15-year-old girl who had been named Nakusa by a grandfather disappointed by her birth. She chose the new name "Ashmita," which means "very tough" or "rock hard" in Hindi.
You go girls!
