(Image Source: Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia Commons)

BY MEGAN NOE

ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN

What’s in a name? For hundreds of Indian girls whose name means ‘unwanted’ -- a life of embarrassment and guilt.

But IBN Live has more on their chance for a fresh start.

“For the last two decades, this young girl went by the name Nakusa. Nakusa in Marathi means ‘unwanted’. Today, she, along with 140 other girls, were rechristened in a unique public ceremony. Some say, for the first time, they feel their existence validated.”

The AP reports a total of 285 girls participated in the ceremony, choosing traditional Indian names as well as those of Bollywood actresses. The Hindustan Times explains--

“All of them had been named Nakusha or Unwanted by their parents, in the belief that this name would ensure that their next child was a boy.”

The renaming is a move to fight gender discrimination in a country with some of the worst sex ratios in the world. While the boy/girl split is roughly 50/50 worldwide, The National says the state where the renaming took place has only 883 girls per 1000 boys.

“Female foeticide and infanticide has long been an issue in India. In 1994 the country banned the use of ultrasound to determine gender in an effort to stem the practice. Despite this, the female-to-male ratio continues to widen in India, indicating that the ban is being ignored.”

The reason for the boy bias? The Journal explains-- it’s both religious and economic.

“Some believe that the Indian preference for boys comes from the high cost of marrying girls off because families have to enter expensive dowry agreements. Other traditions, such as boys lighting their parents’ funeral pyres, also play a part. Last month, Plan International found that the majority of boys and girls in India believe that families should educate boys over girls if resources are scarce.”

And a reporter for NDTV says, the name change is just the first part of this uphill battle.

“Changing their names, officials hope, will be a small step towards changing this mindset. They also plan to ensure that government schemes for the girl child get to her. Changing attitudes will be a tough fight.”