Cultural and rituals norms have no effect on female foeticide.
Answers
The problem of female foeticide has received little attention. The female
foetus is readily sacrificed on the altar of expediency, individual convenience and
legal technicalities. Ease access to the techniques ofsex determination has given rise
to female foeticide. In many countries, modem techniques of ultrasound scans and
unuterio-sex testing which are basically designed to make pregnancy safer are
ironically being abused for female foeticide. Millions of female fetuses are aborted
creating a serious sex imbalance to give rise to other social problems in India and a
few other South Asian countries. A study reveals that in a year around 6 million
abortions took place out ofwhich only a few thousand are legal. A survey carried out
in Bombay during 1984 revealed that out of 8,000 abortions, 7999 were of female
fetuses1. In a much quoted study carried out in Maharashta it is revealed that a
Bombay clinic which performed 8,000 operations, 7,999 ofwhich are girls. In South
Korea 20,000 females are aborted every year. The same is true with China and several
other third world countries2.
This gruesome act often goes unnoticed and unreported. So there can be no
direct evidence to establish the existence ofthis inhuman act. However there are some
indicators which lead us to a positive conclusion about the existence ofthis practice.
One ofthe basic indicators is the male-female Sex Ratio. Sex ratio is defined as
number of females per 1000 males. The sex ratio of Indian population has always
1 Devi Laxmi, “Encyclopedia ofWomen Development and Family Welfare Series- Women and Family
Welfare”, (1998) p. 141, New Delhi. Anmol Publications.
2Shaleo Nigam: Legal News and Views: July 2000 (Struggle for Survival : Issues in the Sex
Determination and Female Foeticide)
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been of topical interest for the demographers, social scientists, women’s groups
research scholars and various planners and policy makers. Global population has
increased threefold during the century from 2 billion to 6 billion, the population of
India has increased nearly five times from 23 million (23 crores) to one billion in
same period3. The question is when population increases why is that India has such an
uneven composition of population (inconsistency in sex-ratio) compared to most of
the developed countries in the world?4
3.1 Indicators ofFemale Foeticide
The U.N. Statistical Office and Populations division points out that sex ratios
in India seems to suggest that it is an exception to the global rule that girls have a
better survival rate than boys, since they are biologically stronger. The sex ratio at the
International level is an average of 1050 females for every 1000 males. In India the
sex ratio has steadily been declining over the years with the last census showing a sex
ratio of 945 women to 1000 men. This indicates a significantly high number of
“missing women”. “Missing women” denotes the difference between the expected
and actual number ofliving females. The table-1 shows the sex ratio as per the census
in last eleven decades.
A preliminary look at the census data of2001 reveals a severe scenario ofthe
worsening situation. The sex ratio in the country had always remained in favorable to
females. The sex ratio ofthe child population (0-6) years has declined by 18 points at
the national level for 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2004. In fact all states and union
territories except Kerala, Tripura and Mizoram have reported fewer girls then boys,
less than six years. The decline is most pronounced in Punjab, where the sex ratio in
this age group(0-6 years), fell from 875 in 1991 to 793 (a decrease of 82 points)
"The question itself is wrong.
The culture and rituals have norms on female feticide. In villages the female children are considered as debit and male children are considered as credit.
Because for female children we have to spend a lot towards their marriage.
But it is not in the case of male children.
Male children is having all the rights in the family after their father's death which is not given to the female children.
So Indian culture and rituals affects the growth of female foeticide.
"