IANS

PEOPLE who do things like that are sick, says actress Kajol condemning the death of three-month-old Afreen who was battered by her father in Bangalore. Former beauty queen Sushmita says anyone who can do such a hideous thing should be punished.

Afreen died on Wednesday of a cardiac arrest after suffering grievous head injuries, a dislocated neck, cigarette burns and even bite marks.

According to her mother Reshma, a 19-year-old, her husband wanted a male child and was angry at the birth of a girl.

“People, who do things like that, are sick. I think children are sacred, they are God’s gift and I don’t think anybody has the right to take anybody’s life or to do anything with a baby,” said Kajol, who is a mother of two - daughter Nysa and son Yug.

She was speaking at the Save and Empower The Girl Child campaign organised in Mumbai recently.

“It’s a wonderful cause and I am very happy to be here. The country needs to sit and take notice of this. In today’s date, if anybody feels that man is superior to woman then they have to re-think their belief. It’s wrong, and an illiterate attitude,” said Kajol.

Sushmita, who has adopted two daughters, said at the same event that in a gender biased Indian society, many girls were killed even before neighbours came to know about their existence.

“Any person who can do such a hideous thing should be punished,” she said.

“So many baby girls get killed before their neighbours even get to know that they exist...When you take action in your own hands it matters a lot. So whenever I get an opportunity, I jump in because I want everyone to have a life,” added the actress, who also walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra with her twoyear- old daughter Alisah recently.

Talking about biases towards the girl child, Sushmita said: “You can’t believe this happens with so many children in the small districts of Punjab, Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra. These are all heavily inflicted states. “No matter how many rulings and laws the government makes, we should change. There are very strong laws in our country but they have not been implemented.

Either the case doesn’t start early or if its starts, it gets delayed. We have to understand what is right and wrong. Many people who are not educated enough want to dispose of their daughters at the earliest.

“We are all examples of the fact that given a chance, we have to prove ourselves. It’s a matter of having that faith,” Sushmita said.