Villages such as Kharbi and Palshi in Loha or Dongargaon in Mudkhed taluka of Nanded district have made it to the news, where every family takes pride in displaying names of their daughters, or daughters-in-law, on the nameplate of the house. 

The move is the result of an initiative taken up by Nanded zilla parishad chief executive officer (CEO) Varsha Thakur-Ghuge.

"In the rural areas, the houses, lanes and even hamlets are either known by the surnames or names of male members, who are family heads. We decided to change the way and convince families to put up nameplates of their daughters. The houses are now recognised and referred to by the names of daughters and daughters-in-law in the families," she said.

Sunanda Lokhande from Narwat village in Bhokar taluka cannot stop smiling, as she takes pride while pointing at the nameplate of the house. It displays the names of Sunanda and her two daughters-in-law. In her village, more than 200 families have put up such nameplates at the entry of their homes, according to a report by the Times of India (TOI).

"We have put up three name plates, one with my name, and two with those of my daughters-in-law (Vishranti and Priyanka), on each of the three entrance doors," Sunanda told TOI. 

To set aside gender discrimination in their own way, the villagers in Nanded district have started this unique initiative. In the families, where there are no daughters, the villagers have been counselled and convinced to put up the names of their daughters-in-law on the nameplates.

Dongargaon gram sevak Santosh Bismille told TOI, "We have 452 houses in our village and each of them has a nameplate bearing the name of the daughter or daughter-in-law on it. We have already started feeling the difference."

Image courtesy: Twitter