THIS refers to the report ‘Man kills newborn daughter in Mianwali’ (March 8) which was about the heart-wrenching tragic event in which a disgruntled father snatched his week-old daughter from her mother, threw her to the floor and shot five bullets to kill her on the spot only because he wanted to have his first child to be a boy. This is as nauseating as it gets.

Over time, the humans have evolved from the Stone Age era to the present day modern times where gender neutrality is a cornerstone of human existence. The social mindset has also changed for the better. But these isolated incidents clearly indicate the distance we have yet to travel in this critical regard.

The culprit must have been in self-proclaimed righteousness, arrogance and cognitive dissonance that led him to act the way he did. All individuals, especially parents and teachers, can inculcate good moral values among children by being role models in terms of honesty, behaviour and respect. They must help and guide them to practise their learning, and acknowledge and appreciate the positive behaviour and their achievements.

Moral experiences and values must be shared through free and frank communication to correct the drifting values on the larger social scale.

Air-Cdre (retd) M. Khalid Kamal
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022