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Save the Girl Child
Consumerist culture oriented economic development, commercialization of medical profession and gender biases in our society, combined together have created a sad scenario of ‘missing girls’. Global comparisons of sex ratios show that sex ratios in Europe, North America, Caribbean, Central Asia, the poorest regions of sub Saharan Africa are favorable to women as these countries neither kill, nor neglect girls. The lowest sex ratio in the world is found in some parts of India.
The practice of Female Feticide has been a century-old one in rural India, so much so that it has become more predominant in the rural parts of India. However, the practice of feticide, in which an unborn baby is aborted or killed at birth simply because it is not a boy, is increasingly spreading from India’s poor and rural classes to affluent urban families. Selection of the sex of the foetus is a combination of personal choices, family issues, social, ethical, medical and even legal reasons.
According to population survey reports, the sex ratio, which was 972 females per 1000 males in 1901, became 933 females to 1000 males in 2001. The disparity in the ratio was more severe in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Chandigarh. The child sex ratio (CSR) in India has also been indicative of a negative trend towards the girl child for decades now. The sharp decline in CSR from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 as brought forth by the 2001 census hit the public eye. Sociologists have speculated that such an imbalance would lead to greater incidence of rape, sharing of women within and outside wedlock, abductions, and in general, in reducing women's freedom and mobility. While there exists no quick and easy solution to the problem, it is possible to reduce gender inequality, which lies at the core of feticide. The first critical step is to challenge the patriarchal attitude that applauds boys and undermine girls, and to create a culture that celebrates both the genders equally. More so, the medical fraternity can do a lot of service by preventing the practice of female feticide. CYDA undertakes campaigns and studies to better this situation in India.
The practice of Female Feticide has been a century-old one in rural India, so much so that it has become more predominant in the rural parts of India. However, the practice of feticide, in which an unborn baby is aborted or killed at birth simply because it is not a boy, is increasingly spreading from India’s poor and rural classes to affluent urban families. Selection of the sex of the foetus is a combination of personal choices, family issues, social, ethical, medical and even legal reasons.
According to population survey reports, the sex ratio, which was 972 females per 1000 males in 1901, became 933 females to 1000 males in 2001. The disparity in the ratio was more severe in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Chandigarh. The child sex ratio (CSR) in India has also been indicative of a negative trend towards the girl child for decades now. The sharp decline in CSR from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 as brought forth by the 2001 census hit the public eye. Sociologists have speculated that such an imbalance would lead to greater incidence of rape, sharing of women within and outside wedlock, abductions, and in general, in reducing women's freedom and mobility. While there exists no quick and easy solution to the problem, it is possible to reduce gender inequality, which lies at the core of feticide. The first critical step is to challenge the patriarchal attitude that applauds boys and undermine girls, and to create a culture that celebrates both the genders equally. More so, the medical fraternity can do a lot of service by preventing the practice of female feticide. CYDA undertakes campaigns and studies to better this situation in India.
