Killed unborn in the womb

Saswat Panigrahi

Nearly 40 million girls are missing from the Indian population. According to the data compiled by the Registrar General of India, the country's child sex ratio is 927 females per 1,000 males as per the 2001 Census. The ratio was 945:1000 in 1991. That figure, too, had dropped significantly from 976:1000 in 1961. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio has dropped to less than 800:1000.

The sex ratio in India has altered in favour of boys since the beginning of the 20th century. Its effect has been most visible in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. In Delhi, the statistics are more shocking. In the posh localities south and west of the city, the female child constitution in the ratio is a shocking 762 and 784 respectively, as was reported by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2004.

The Government appears to have failed to prevent large-scale female infanticide and foeticide, according to a UN report. As a result, says the UN's World Population Fund, India has one of the highest sex imbalances in the world. The WPF says that the low status of women in Indian society is mainly to blame for this grim scenario.

Not surprisingly, demographers warn that there will be a shortage of brides in the next 20 years because of the adverse juvenile sex ratio, combined with an overall decline in fertility. Between 1981 and 1991, one crore males were in need of females. Currently, 37 million males are looking for partners. According to media reports, girls from Assam and West Bengal are kidnapped and sold in Haryana.

India has a long history of infanticide. However, technology has changed the methods of getting rid of a girl child. Female infanticide has taken the form of female foeticide. This includes the detection of the unborn baby in the womb of the mother and its consequent abortion. Female foeticide violates the right to life of the unborn child, besides being a strong manifestation of violence against women.

Campaigns have been launched to highlight the importance of a girl child in society. What can one attribute this abysmal state of affairs to? The brick and mortar system of addressing sex inequality? Excuses about shortage of manpower and lack of expertise? Not a single case of sex determination has apparently been charged and punished. And the reason is lack of circumstantial evidence.

-- Published in the Edit page, The Pioneer on December 15, 2006