THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A seven-day-old girl child who was found in the cradle (ammathottil) of the Kerala State Child Welfare Council (KSCWC) in Thiruvananthapuram has been named after Nobel Prize winner for peace Narges Mohammadi.
The naming of the girl gained significance when the war between Israel and Hamas entered its seventh day and amid the collective fight for global peace.
Baby Narges is the sixth infant to have been found in the cradle, which was modernised and inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in January this year. The baby was found in the ‘ammathottil’ by the council staff around 1.30 am on Friday.
Narges Mohammadi, who is currently jailed in Iran, has been fighting for women’s rights in the country. In a statement, council general secretary G L Arun Gopi said they decided to name the girl ‘Narges’ as an endorsement to the global call for peace.
The modernised cradle at the State Child Welfare Committee headquarters is equipped with modern technology to receive abandoned children. A message indicating the arrival of the ‘baby guest’ appeared on the monitor installed at the adoption centre, recording the child’s picture and weight.
Following this, a siren sounded. Nurses, midwives, and security personnel on duty reached the cradle and took the child from the adoption centre to the Government Children’s and Women’s Hospital at Thycaud for a health check-up in the morning.
“The child has been kept in the same hospital for follow-up treatment as per the doctor’s instructions. Narges is the fourth baby to have been rescued in the past one and a half months with the help of the modernised cradle. Five of the six children recovered from the ‘ammathottil’ were boys. Narges is also the 587th child to have been rescued in the state through the ‘ammathottil’ since its inception in Thiruvananthapuram on November 14, 2002,” Arun said in the statement.