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Feamle foeticideTRANSCRIPT
Female foeticide is the act of aborting a foetus because it is
female. The frequency of female foeticide is indirectly estimated from the observed high birth sex ratio, that is the ratio of boys to
girls at birth.
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Female foeticide is the act of aborting a foetus because it is female. The frequency of female foeticide is indirectly estimated from the observed 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 104.1 in 1981, to 107.8 in 2001, to 108.8 in 2011. The child sex ratio is within the normal natural range in all eastern and southern states of India, but significantly higher in certain western and particularly northwestern states such as Punjab, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir (120, 118 and 116, as of 2011, respectively). High birth sex ratio and implied female foeticide is an issue that is not unique to India. Even higher sex ratios than in India have been reported for the last 20 years in China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and some Southeast European countries. There is an on-going debate as to whether these high sex ratios are only caused by female foeticide or some of the higher ratio is explained by natural causes.
Foetal sex determination and sex-selective abortion has been estimated to be a 100 (US$1.60) industry. The Indian government has passed Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) (PCPNDT) Act in 2004 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
India is one of the several countries where higher human sex ratio is observed. This is assumed to be caused by female foeticide, an assumption that is the subject of considerable scholarly debate and continuing scientific studies. Human sex ratio is the relative number of males to females in a given age group.[The natural human sex ratio at birth was estimated, in a 2002 study, to be close to 106 boys to 100 girls.
Human sex ratio at birth that is significantly different from 106 is often assumed to be correlated to the prevalence and scale of sex-selective abortion. A birth sex ratio impacts a society's overall sex ratio over time, as well the child sex ratio in near term. In India, child sex ratio is defined as the ratio of boys to girls in 0-6 year age group. India's child sex ratio was 108 according to its 2001 census, and 109 according to its 2011 census.[The national average masks the variations in regional numbers according to 2011 census — Haryana’s ratio was 120, Punjab’s ratio was 118, Jammu & Kashmir was 116, and Gujarat’s ratio was 111. The 2011 Census found eastern states of India had birth sex ratios between 103 and 104, lower than normal. in contrast to decadal nationwide census data, small non-random sample surveys report higher child sex ratios in India
One school of scholars suggest that any birth sex ratio of boys to girls that is outside of the normal 105-107 range, necessarily implies sex-selective abortion. These scholars[13] claim that both the sex ratio at birth and the population sex ratio are remarkably constant in human populations. Significant deviations in birth sex ratios from the normal
range can only be explained by manipulation, that is sex-selective abortion.[14] In a widely cited article,[15] Amartya Sen compared the
birth sex ratio in Europe (106) and United States (105) with those in Asia (107+) and argued that the high sex ratios in East Asia, West Asia and South Asia may be due to excessive female mortality. Sen pointed to research that had shown that if men and women receive similar nutritional and medical attention and good health care then females have better survival rates, and it is the male which is the
genetically fragile sex.[16] Sen estimated 'missing women' from extra women who would have survived in Asia if it had the same ratio of women to men as Europe and United States. According to Sen, the
high birth sex ratio over decades, implies a female shortfall of 11% in Asia, or over 100 million women as missing from the 3 billion
combined population of India, other South Asian countries, West Asia, North Africa and China.
scholars question whether birth sex ratio outside 103-107 can be due to natural reasons. William James and otherssuggest that conventional assumptions have been:
there are equal numbers of X and Y chromosomes in mammalian sperms X and Y stand equal chance of achieving conception therefore equal number of male and female zygotes are formed, and that therefore any variation of sex ratio at birth is due to sex selection between
conception and birth. James cautions that available scientific evidence stands against the above
assumptions and conclusions. He reports that there is an excess of males at birth in almost all human populations, and the natural sex ratio at birth is usually between 102 to 108. However the ratio may deviate significantly from this range for natural reasons such as early marriage and fertility, teenage mothers, average maternal age at birth, paternal age, age gap between father and mother, late births, ethnicity, social and economic stress, warfare, environmental and harmonal effects.This school of scholars support their alternate hypothesis with historical data when modern sex-selection technologies were unavailable, as well as birth sex ratio in sub-regions, and various ethnic groups of developed economies.They suggest that direct abortion data should be collected and studied, instead of drawing conclusions indirectly from human sex ratio at birth.
The following table presents the child sex ratio data for India's states and union territories, according to 2011 Census of
India for population count in the 0-1 age group.The data
suggests 18 states/UT had birth sex ratio higher than 107
implying excess males at birth and/or excess female
mortalities after birth but before she reaches the age of 1,
13 states/UT had normal child sex ratios in the 0-1 age group, and 4 states/UT had birth sex ratio less than 103 implying
excess females at birth and/or excess male mortalities after
birth but before he reaches the age of 1. One the next page
State / UTBoys (0-1 age)2011 Census[31]
Girls (0-1 age)2011 Census[31]
Sex ratio(Boys per100 girls)
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS
2,727 2,651 102.9
ANDHRA PRADESH 626,538 588,309 106.5
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
11,799 11,430 103.2
ASSAM 280,888 267,962 104.8
BIHAR 1,057,050 957,907 110.3
CHANDIGARH 8,283 7,449 111.2
CHHATTISGARH 253,745 244,497 103.8
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI
3,181 3,013 105.6
DAMAN & DIU 1,675 1,508 111.1
DELHI 135,801 118,896 114.2
GOA 9,868 9,171 107.6
GUJARAT 510,124 450,743 113.2
HARYANA 254,326 212,408 119.7
HIMACHAL PRADESH
53,261 48,574 109.6
JAMMU & KASHMIR 154,761 120,551 128.4
JHARKHAND 323,923 301,266 107.5
KARNATAKA 478,346 455,299 105.1
KERALA 243,852 238,489 102.2
LAKSHADWEEP 593 522 114.0
MADHYA PRADESH 733,148 677,139 108.3
MAHARASHTRA 946,095 829,465 114.1
MANIPUR 22,852 21,326 107.2
MEGHALAYA 41,353 39,940 103.5
MIZORAM 12,017 11,882 101.1
NAGALAND 17,103 16,361 104.5
ODISHA 345,960 324,949 106.5
PUDUCHERRY 9,089 8,900 102.1
PUNJAB 226,929 193,021 117.6
RAJASTHAN 722,108 635,198 113.7
SIKKIM 3,905 3,744 104.3
TAMIL NADU 518,251 486,720 106.5
TRIPURA 28,650 27,625 103.7
UTTAR PRADESH 1,844,947 1,655,612 111.4
UTTARAKHAND 92,117 80,649 114.2
WEST BENGAL 658,033 624,760 105.0
To the Chief Minister... ...of Rajasthan is where Aamir went to push for
fast-track courts for female foeticide cases In the opening episode of its first season,
Satyamev Jayate focused on the wide prevalence of female foeticide in India. The outstanding work done by journalists Shripal Shaktawat and Meena Sharma to expose this social evil in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan came in for special attention. The reporters, who appeared as guests on the show, spoke about how they had performed sting operations to collect evidence against doctors who practised sex-selective abortions.
Due to their relentless efforts, the Government of Rajasthan instituted a probe against these doctors but no further action was taken. In fact, many of them had been promoted or cleared of all charges.
At the end of the show, Mr Aamir Khan made a commitment that he would pursue Shaktwat and Sharma’s cause and appeal to the state’s government to ensure that justice was done in the cases they had uncovered.
On May 10, 2012, Mr Khan kept his word and met with the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and requested him to get these cases clubbed together and tried in a fast-track court. Within a matter of a few weeks, the government announced the setting up of fast-track courts for speedy trial in all such cases. Within a year after they were set up, 31 convictions for violating the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act were recorded.
A PCPNDT Bureau of Investigation staffed with police officers, administrative managers and health officers was also set up in Rajasthan. Between 2012 and 2013, the Rajasthan government carried out 20 sting operations after which registrations of 150 centres and many doctors were cancelled. The government also started monitoring diagnostic centres online. “We monitor, on a daily basis, the number of sonographies performed in all centres across Rajasthan,” said a government spokesperson. “The impact of the show was such that people have started talking about the issue. Both doctors as well as the civil society are now looking at female foeticide as a social evil which must be tackled at an individual level. It has become a burning issue after Satyamev Jayate,” added the spokesperson. Programmes on gender sensitivity were initiated at the Rajasthan Police Academy and at the Central Detective Training school.
“There is a larger change in public sentiment,” say Shaktawat and Sharma. “There is a big change in mindset after the show. People have now woken up to the need to end this practice immediately,” Sharma added. “What we could not achieve in six years, Satyamev Jayate was able to achieve in two. One woman searched for me just to say that she felt guilty about the actions she had taken years ago.”
Shaktawat feels the change is visible even in the medical community. “After the show was telecast, doctors’ conscience awakened and they said they would not continue with the practice. A doctor from Dehradun contacted me and said that his thinking had been changed; he would longer be part of such a terrible practice. A doctor saying this, it shows the extent of impact on people’s mindsets.”
New Delhi: Female foeticide is a matter of "deep shame" and a "cause of great concern", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, the International Day of the Girl Child."On International Day of the Girl Child we celebrate the achievements of our daughters. From the classroom to sports, they shine everywhere," he said in a tweet.The prime minister added: "Female foeticide is a matter of deep shame and a cause of great concern. Lets work together to remove this menace from society.""Today let us pledge to create an atmosphere of equality for the girl child. There is no question of any discrimination based on gender," he said.
