India: Another baby girl killed before she got a chance at life, another father unable to contain his disappointment at begetting a daughter, another mother mourning her child and her helplessness

The sickeningly familiar story has been repeated once again in Bangalore with the death of three-month-old Afreen from burns and bites by her father. It is the latest chapter in the sorry tale of women in India. Afreen died of grievous head injuries, a dislocated neck, cigarette burns and even bite marks, just three days after she was admitted to hospital. Her mother Reshma, just 19, sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled her husband's brutal assault on the baby because he wanted a male child. Reshma also said that her husband, Umar Farooq, tried to poison her and harassed her for dowry. She did attempt to fight back and even approached the Bangalore Child Welfare Committee. But it was clearly a losing battle for the young mother and her infant daughter. In the end, Afreen died of a cardiac arrest.