Female foeticide is the elimination of girl child after sex
determination test from the womb. Girl child is killed before birth just to
fulfill the wishes of old members in the family of getting boy baby first. All
the process gone under familial pressure especially by husband or in-laws.
General reason behind abortion becomes unplanned pregnancy however female
foeticide becomes planned by the families. People believe that boys are the key
to continue their family lineage however they do not understand the most simple
thing that girls are reasons to give birth to new entity in the world not boys.
People in the Indian society are used to of giving birth to the child
continuously until they get boy baby by killing all the girl baby earlier to
the boy. Daughters are given less respect and priority than sons in Indian
society from the ancient time. They did not have same access like boys in the
areas of education, healthcare, nutrition, play, etc.
The frequency of female foeticide in India
is assumed to be an estimation derived from its high birth sex ratio, that is
the ratio of boys to girls at birth. The natural ratio is assumed to be between
103 to 107, and any number above it is considered as suggestive of female
foeticide. According to the decennial Indian census, the sex ratio in the 0 to 6 age group in India has
risen from 102.4 males per 100 females in 1961, to 104.2 in 1980, to 107.5 in
2001, to 108.9 in 2011.
Over the past decade, Odisha has witnessed a drastic reduction
in the sex ratio of children within the age-group 0-6 years, according to the
Population Foundation of India. The child sex ratio, according to the
2001 census, stands at 950 girls to 1,000 boys in Orissa. This is a significant
decline from 1991, when the ratio was 967 girls per 1,000 boys.In 2011 941 in
1000 boys.
The Indian government has passed Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act
(PCPNDT) in 1994 to ban and punish prenatal sex screening and female foeticide.
It is currently illegal in India to determine or disclose sex of the foetus to
anyone. However, there are concerns that PCPNDT Act has been poorly enforced by
authorities.
Females not only face inequality in this culture, they are
even denied the right to be born. Why do so many families selectively abort
baby daughters? In a word: economics. Aborting female fetuses is both practical
and socially acceptable in India. Female foeticide is driven by many factors,
but primarily by the prospect of having to pay a dowry to the future bridegroom
of a daughter. While sons offer security to their families in old age and can
perform the rites for the souls of deceased parents and ancestors, daughters
are perceived as a social and economic burden. Prenatal sex detection
technologies have been misused, allowing the selective abortions of female
offspring to proliferate. Legally, however, female feticide is a penal offence.
Although female infanticide has long been committed in India, foeticide is a
relatively new practice, emerging concurrently with the advent of technological
advancements in prenatal sex determination on a large scale in the 1990s. While
abortion is legal in India, it is a crime to abort a pregnancy solely because
the fetus is female. Strict laws and penalties are in place for violators.
These laws, however, have not stemmed the tide of this abhorrent practice.
The advancement of ultrasound technology in India came in
1979 however its spread was slow. But became widespread in 2000s. It is
estimated that since 1990s, more than 10 million of female foetuses have been
aborted because of being girl. We can see that female foeticide has been
practiced through the history and cultural background. Earlier, people believed
that male babies are superior as they would provide manual labor as well as
lead the family lineage in future. Son is considered as family asset however a
daughter is a liability.
In order to control the population and stop female
foeticide, Government of India made various rules and regulations against
female foeticide and trend of abortions after sex determination tests. Killing of
a baby girl through abortion has been an offense all through the country.
Doctors found performing sex determination tests and abortions especially for
killing girl baby would be guilty and lose their license. Awareness about the
importance of girl child in the society is major weapon to get relief from the
female foeticide.Recent awareness programmes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, or
Save girls campaign, etc have been made regarding girl’s rights.
Anuradha Mohanty
ExecutiveDirector ,PECUC
