daughters - and she's now getting sterilised after having the boy she always wanted
A mother has spoken of her disappointment at giving birth to her 15th daughter, after enduring 16 pregnancies in the hope of having sons.
Kanu Sangod and husband Ramsinh pictured with 11 of their children.
40-year old woman named Kanu Sangod, from the remote Jharibhujhi village in Gujarat, India, has spoken of her disappointment at giving birth to her 15th daughter, after enduring 16 pregnancies in the hope of having sons.
She went through 14 pregnancies before finally conceiving her first boy, Vijay, two years ago. She got pregnant one last time as she wanted to give her son a brother but ended up adding another daughter to her brood, who is yet to be named.
Kanu, who had an arranged marriage to her 40-year old husband, Ramsinh, 20 years ago, had her children at a rate of one a year but it took 18 years before their much longed for son arrived.
'God has watched our pain. We have waited patiently for boys to fill our family. I wanted to gift my son a brother so that they can support each other and take care of all their sisters, but it wasn’t meant to be. We were gifted another girl and now we have to accept that,' Kanu said.
Majority of traditional Indian couples are desperate for sons when they start a family, girls are widely regarded as a burden as many fear the high costs of a wedding and resent spending money on education only for the girls to eventually leave home to marry.
Some women are even forced to abort pregnancies when they believe they will deliver a girl, often under pressure from their husbands or in-laws who favour boys.
'Initially my husband was quite happy with the birth of our daughters, but after the fourth, he’d had enough and was always angry. He blamed me for only giving birth to girls, and once he threatened to marry again if I couldn’t give him a son.
I didn’t want to let him down; I wanted to make him happy. I wanted a son too, so I just kept on getting pregnant.'
But the desperate parents continued adding to their family, in order to have a son. They went from one temple to another to gain blessings that they hoped would make their dream come true.
Finally, in 2013, Kanu gave birth to a son and named him Vijay, which is Hindi for victory.
'It was the best day of my life. For half an hour I couldn’t believe I actually had a son. I took him in my arms and hugged him and hugged him. He lay on my chest for hours. It was the most wonderful feeling. I had so much love for him.'
The birth of a son after 18 years of trying was certainly a big day for the couple and they celebrated with a feast with family and friends.
'I organised a party for about 30 families to celebrate Vijay’s birth. His name seemed only natural because it was like a victory for us to be blessed with a son after battling for 18 long years,' Raminsh recalled.
