Voice of the Unwanted Girl
by Sujata Bhatt
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This powerful, shocking dramatic monologue is written from the perspective of an aborted female fetus addressing her mother, delivering a devastating critique of female feticide in Indian society. The girl reminds her mother that she was 'sent away' the moment an ultrasound revealed the baby would be a girl, ended by a lethal injection. She describes the cold autopsy room where she was examined as medical waste, her head measured and cut apart, her small body looking like a 'sliced pomegranate'. This is contrasted with the mother's cold denial: after the abortion the mother wore a grass-green sari with parijatak blossoms in her hair, and the family smiled, relieved they need not raise a second girl. The unwanted girl refuses to disappear as a gentle butterfly, flower or happy song; instead she demands her mother look for her in the 'unspeakable' place that smells of formaldehyde. Yet, despite the horrific betrayal, the poem ends poignantly: 'and still, I wish you would look for me, mother.'
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Sujata Bhatt (b. 1956), an Indian-born poet writing in English, gives voice in this haunting dramatic monologue to an aborted female fetus. The poem is a searing indictment of female feticide and the social preference for sons.
The voice of the aborted fetus
The poem is spoken by an aborted female fetus addressing her mother. The girl begins by reminding her mother that she was 'sent away' the moment the doctor conducted an ultrasound and revealed that the baby would be a girl. To end her life, the doctors administered a lethal injection.
The clinical horror and societal denial
The speaker describes her experience in the cold autopsy room, where she was examined as medical waste. She notes with sorrow that her head was measured and cut apart, describing her small body as looking like a 'sliced pomegranate'.
This image is contrasted with the mother's cold denial. After the abortion, the mother put on a beautiful grass-green sari with parijatak blossoms in her hair, and everyone in the family smiled, relieved that they did not have to raise a second girl.
The refusal to disappear
The unwanted girl tells her mother that she will not haunt her dreams as a gentle butterfly or a beautiful flower, nor will she be part of any happy song. Instead, she demands that her mother look for her in the 'unspeakable' place where she was sent, a place that permanently smells of formaldehyde (the chemical used to preserve bodies in labs).
Despite this horrific betrayal, the poem ends on a poignant note, as the child still whispers: 'and still, I wish you would look for me, mother.' Through this, Bhatt delivers a devastating critique of female feticide in Indian society.