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FRAGMENTS OF A PRISONER'S DIARY
of the family had to be saved. The purpose would not be served by turning out the misbehaving daughter. Besides, the “misbehaviour" might have all along been a skeleton in the family cupboard. In cities, the movements of purdah women are strictly restricted. Any misbehaviour, therefore, must take place under the very nose of the defenders of forced chastity and obligatory faithfulness. Therefore, public disclosure always affects the name of the family concerned, which is suspected of moral laxity, at least to the extent of conniving with, if not actually encouraging, th: misbehaviour on the part of individual members, Thus, the mother of the crring daughter was in a delicate position, and naturally sought the only way out, namely, abortion-an act neither legally permissible, nor morally tolerated.
Moral objection to abortion, practised under compulsion, that is, by women who would be socially persecuted if they owned up their motherhood, is a curious attitude. In the opinion of the moralist, as well as in the eyes of the law, abortion amounts to homicide, if not actual murder. The former says that any act committed to hide a sin, is itself sinful. Now, if conception out of wedlock is sinful, then, a child so conceived should be regarded as an emboliment of sina living monument to sinfulness. It should not be allowed to soil the moral atmosphere of society. Therefore, to kill such a child at 214
