ನಾ ಬರಿ ಭ್ರೂಣವಲ್ಲ (Na Bari Bhrunavalla)
by ಮಾಲತಿ ಪಟ್ಟಣಶೆಟ್ಟಿ (Malati Pattanashetti)
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This intense feminist poem, 'I am Not a Mere Fetus', is a dramatic monologue spoken by an unborn female fetus from her mother's womb. It is a heartbreaking protest against female feticide and gender discrimination. The fetus pleads for her right to be born, insisting she is not a lifeless mass of cells but a living human soul with dreams. She describes her fear of the clinical instruments and lethal injections used for gender-selective abortion, shares her innocent dreams of the world, and exposes the hypocrisy of a society that worships goddesses yet murders its daughters.
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Malati Pattanashetti's Na Bari Bhrunavalla is a raw, socially critical dramatic monologue that gives voice to the most silent victims of patriarchy, unborn baby girls. The speaker, a female fetus in her mother's womb, tenderly addresses her parents: 'Appa, Amma... please listen. I am not just a lifeless fetus; I am your daughter, part of your own flesh and blood.'
Fear of feticide and innocent dreams
The fetus describes the terror of modern medical technology misused for gender-selective abortion, the cold instruments and lethal injections that threaten her before she can see the sun. She protests being treated as a financial burden or a curse merely for her gender. She then shares her innocent dreams: to feel the cool breeze, walk on green grass, gaze at the stars and learn to read, promising to be a source of pride and support to her parents in old age, for a daughter's love is no less than a son's.
A critique of hypocrisy
The poem is a devastating critique of a 'civilised' society that still harbours prejudice against women. It exposes the hypocrisy of people who worship goddesses in temples yet murder their own daughters in clinics. By giving the fetus a voice, the poet forces the reader to confront the moral horror of feticide and demands that every girl be granted her fundamental right to be born, grow and be free.