In the local language of the state of Maharashtra, ‘Nakusa' means ‘unwanted'. Last week, more than 200 Indian girls took a stand against gender discrimination by officially changing their names from 'Nakusa' to something else.

The Central Indian district of Satara held an official ceremony where these girls were awarded official name change certificates and new hopes of equality.

Sexism is an ancient issue in India where girls are often seen as a burden, especially in poorer communities, because their parents are forced to pay a dowry at their wedding. Sons, on the other hand, are typically considered as a great asset because they can earn wages for the family. The Hindustan Times reports that parents hold a strong belief that by naming their daughters ‘Nakusa' they were ensured that their next-born would be a son.

This YouTube video shows girls and women lining up for the name-changing ceremony. Many girls changed their names to that of their favourite Bollywood actress. Aishwarya was the most popular choice after famous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Others chose names of goddesses.

As a female of Indian descent, I find news like this very disturbing. Not long ago was India easily deemed as a developing nation. Recently, urban cities in India are thriving centres of business, technology and economics but is it actually considered progression if the social system has such deep flaws?

In the state of Maharashtra where the ceremony took place, there are only 833 girls for every 1,000 boys. This number was 933 girls only 10 years ago. This change is a result of abortions of female fetuses or neglect of the health of young girls.

Although, hospitals are now banned from revealing the gender of an unborn child and ceremonies like these are giving young women a boost of confidence, how much will the social structure actually change? Plan International found that majority of families in India chose to educate their sons over daughters. Without education, social development is next to impossible.

Do you think that women changing their name is a step in the right direction or a useless attempt at changing a rigid social system?