San Agustín University

Language center

Status of women in India:

female feticide and
infanticide

Subject:
Arequipa-2017
 English Language

Teacher:
 PACCO QUISPE, Percy
Student:
 SANA CHALCO, Fiorela luz
C.U.2015
 Tabla de contenido
Abstract..............................................................................................................................................3

Introduction........................................................................................................................................4

1. Description of India....................................................................................................................6

2. General situation of Women in India..........................................................................................6

2.1. Sex Ratio............................................................................................................................6

2.1.1. Understanding Sex Ratios...........................................................................................6

2.2. Education............................................................................................................................7

2.3. Health.................................................................................................................................7

2.4. Economic Participation Economic......................................................................................7

2.5. Political Participation.........................................................................................................8

2.6. Violence/Crimes against Women........................................................................................8

3. Declining number of female child population in India...............................................................9

3.1. Female feticide...................................................................................................................9

3.2. Female Infanticide............................................................................................................11

4. Causes Leading To Female Feticide and Female Infanticide................................................12

4.1. Gender discrimination:.....................................................................................................12

4.2. Economic Factors:........................................................................................................12

4.3. Socio-ritual factors:......................................................................................................13

4.4. Technological factors....................................................................................................14

4.5. Population Policy:........................................................................................................15

4.6. Education and the gender skew........................................................................................15

4.7. Weak implementation of laws...........................................................................................15

5. Social Action To Control Female Feticide:...............................................................................16

5.1. Measures of the national governments to counter female infanticide...............................16

6. Conclusion:..........................................................................................................................17

Bibliografía......................................................................................................................................18
 STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA: FEMALE FETICIDE AND INFANTICIDE

Abstract

Female feticide has become a social hazard of international significance in the era of ultrasound

technology and capitalist modernity. This article tries to focus on the rationale behind the

feticide, and the consequences of this phenomenon on the Indian society. Finally, this article

will review to the measures taken to combat this heinous phenomenon for a balanced society.

Key words: feticide, abortion, infanticide, sex ratio.

Introduction

Women constitute half a human population have been discriminated, harassed and exploited

from physical to intangible abuse such as mental and psychological torture irrespective of the

country to which they belong. Everywhere women are confronted with many challenges.

[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

Female feticide is perhaps one of the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is

denied her most basic and fundamental right i.e. “the right to life”. Killing of female child has

been a phenomenal characteristic of Indian society under the rule of patriarchy since ancient

days. [ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

The practice first dubbed as female infanticide came into vogue due to the lack of scientific

discovery and unavailability of modern and progressive technology and sophisticated sex

determining instruments. With sufficient availability and extensive supply of such sophisticated

sex determination techniques in the health institutions and clinics, there have been hundreds of

incidences of female feticide surfacing and hence assuming an alarming proportion across the

country at present. It seems that the sex determination test leading to identification of the sex of

unborn child has made the practice of killing the female child unnoticed and easier than before.

[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

The female fetuses are selectively aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus avoid the birth

of the girl child. The form of eliminating the girl child has been the practice of female

infanticide. It is an intentional act killing of female child within one year of its birth either

directly by using poisonous substance, chemicals or indirectly by deliberate neglect to feed the

infant by either one of the parent or other family members and kith and kin of the family

members. It is an clear cut responsibility of the society to reduce the female feticide and

infanticide by way of awareness programme through mass media academicians, lawyers,

scientists, NGO’s and to empower the women activist in the Society so that to curbing this

socio-legal problem. (Kumari & Kajal, 2014)

The practice that commenced in India under the influence of the deeply rooted patriarchy, that

is, to prove the strength of man over woman, has also been influenced by poverty and dowry.

[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

Female feticide is one of the extreme manifestations of violence against women a social

problem that is now spreading unchecked across the country. (Srivastava, 2014)

Female foetuses are selectively being aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus denying a

girl‟s ‘RIGHT TO LIFE’. They are a peerless pair being complementary to one another; each

helps the other, not that without the one, the existence of the other cannot be conceived; and,

therefore, it follows as a necessary result from these facts that anything that will impair the

status of either of them will involve the equal ruin of both. (Srivastava, 2014)

The neglect of and discriminatory behavior against girls leading to excess female mortality has

been widely documented by several studies, but the recent increase in the juvenile sex ratio

discussed above has very likely resulted from rapid spread of ultrasound and amniocentesis tests

for sex determination in many parts of the country, following by sex-selective abortions.

Because of simplicity of the tests and their easy availability on the other hand there is a strong

son preference on female-specific abortions appear to have become popular and widely used

people generally thought that the cost of the test and related abortion is much lower than the

cost of providing dowry and other life-long presentations to a daughter after marriage.

(Srivastava, 2014)

According to (Chaudhury 2003), the alarm bells ringing in the corridors of power about the

missing girls do not find an echo in the dusty by-lanes of the villages in India. It is important to

understand the emergence of this phenomenon in a wider perspective. (Srivastava, 2014)

India pioneered in legalizing induced abortion under the medical termination of pregnancy

(MTP) Act, 1971 that specifies the reasons for which an abortion can legally perform the

abortions and kind of facilities in which they can be carried out. The stipulated conditions are
such that abortion performed by trained doctors who are not registered in facilities not

specifically approved for abortion services are termed illegal. (Srivastava, 2014)

1. Description of India

Populación: 1.266.883.598 de habitantes

Capital: Nueva Delhi Lenguaje: Hindi e inglés

2. General situation of Women in India

We are living, under the patriarchal setup; the fairer sex has suffered at the hands of man.

(Kumari & Kajal, 2014)

2.1. Sex Ratio

The preference for male child is so strong in our society that it

is manifested as limiting the birth and survival of girls. Thus,

although the sex ratio has increased from 933 in 2001 to 943 in

2011, there has been a continuous decline in the sex ratio for

the population age 0-6, from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and,

further, to 918 in 2011 (Census of India).[ CITATION

Muk15 \l 10250 ]

The most important factor responsible for decreasing child sex

ratio is the low status of Indian women coupled with

traditional gender bias. The needs with regards to health, nutrition and education of a girl child

have been neglected. As mentioned above, in the Vedic Age (1500-1000 BC), they were

worshipped as goddesses. However, with the passage of time, their status underwent significant

and sharp decline and they were looked down upon as ‘slaves of slaves’.Studies report that

women in southern India enjoy a better status irrespective of their literacy in comparison to their

north Indian counterparts. (Garg S, 2008)

 2.1.1. Understanding Sex Ratios

• According to the conventional definition,

sex ratio = (number of males/number of

females) per 100 population. However, in

India, we usually define sex ratio as

(number of females/number of males) per

1,000 populations, at a specific point in

time.

• Population sex ratio is the ratio of females per 1,000 males in the entire population.

• The child sex ratio is the ratio of females per 1,000 males in the 0-6 age-group.

• Sex ratio at birth is the ratio of female live births per 1,000 male live births. The fact that more

boys are born than girls has been known at least since the 17th century (1). A sex ratio at birth

that lies between 934 and 952 females per 1,000 male births is considered to be within the

normal range, based on observation over several decades for many countries (2). The sex ratio

at birth is the most relevant indicator for examining the magnitude of sex-selective abortions.

(Rani, 2014)

The census of 2011 has brought much disquiet because the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined

yet again, from 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 914 girls per 1,000 boys in 2011. (Rani,

2014)

2.2. Education

In India, male literacy has always been higher than female literacy. As shown in Table-1,

although the gender differential in literacy has declined over time, the differential remains high

in both rural as well as urban areas. Female literacy is still far below of male literacy and a vast

section of the rural female is still illiterate[ CITATION Muk15 \l 10250 ]

It has long been argued that improvement in literacy rates and socioeconomic development

amongst women could change the adverse sex ratio for the better. However, it has been

observed that educated mothers in Punjab are more prone to discriminate against their daughters

than the uneducated ones.[ CITATION Gar08 \l 10250 ]

2.3. Health

Lack of access of women to proper information and health-care facilities as well as pre-age

marriages have translated into high infant mortality rates (IMR), maternal mortality rates

(MMR), reproductive diseases and a greater incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. The

female IMR has been higher than male IMR. Thus, the female IMR was 42 compared with the

male IMR of 39 in 2013 (SRS Bulletin, 2014). Although MMR has gone down, it is still higher.

The MMR was 178 in 2010-12 (Women and Men in India, 2014).[ CITATION Muk15 \l

10250 ]

2.4. Economic Participation Economic

Empowerment of women is a vital element of strong economic growth in any country. Women‟s

economic empowerment calls for inter-alia gainful and secure employment opportunities. Table-

2 shows that female work participation rate is very low and less than half that of male. Further,

there has not been any improvement in female work participation rate over the years; rather it

has decreased marginally from 25.6% in 2001 to 25.5% in 2011. The important thing to be

noted in Table 1.2 is that more than 40% of the women workers are still in the category of

marginal workers. Although the percentage of female marginal workers decreased slightly from

42.7% in 2001 to 40.4% in 2011 and that of male increased from 12.7% in 2001 to 17.7% in
2011, however, the proportion of female marginal workers is still more than double than that of

male.[ CITATION Muk15 \l 10250 ]

Most of the women workers in India are outside the organized sector. A total of 20.5% women

were employed in the organized sector in 2011 with 18.1% working in the public sector and

24.3% in the private (Women and Men in India, 2014). Women employment is the highest in the

traditional low wage activities like agriculture and related activities. Agriculture in India is

increasingly becoming a female activity. Most of the women work in agricultural sector either

as workers in household farms or as wage workers.[ CITATION Muk15 \l 10250 ]

2.5. Political Participation

As far as political participation is concerned, women have a poor representation in India‟s Lok

Sabha (Lower House), Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and also in State Assemblies. A total of 62

females have been elected in the General Election 2014 constituting only 11.4% share in the

Lok Sabha, while in the Rajya Sabha only 11.9% representatives are women at present.

Similarly, women representation in the state assemblies and state councils is also very poor. On

an average, in the states, women share is only 8% in assemblies and only 4% in state councils as
on 1st August 2014. However, due to the reservation of one-third seats for women in all tiers of

the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), representation of women in the PRIs has increased to

46.7% as on 1st March 2013. As far as women‟s participation in the judiciary is concerned,

there were only 2 women judges out of 30 judges in the Supreme Court and only 58 women

judges out of 609 judges in different High Courts with maximum 25% in Delhi High Court and

no women judge in 6 High Courts as on 1st April 2014 (Women and Men in India, 2014).

[ CITATION Muk15 \l 10250 ]

2.6. Violence/Crimes against Women

Women are still considered as burden and liabilities. They are also considered as properties.

These kinds of attitudes give birth to the evil of violence against women (Dipna and Sharma,

2013). Crimes against women have been continuously increasing. A total of 3,09,546 cases of

crime against women were reported in the country during the year 2013 as compared to

2,44,270 in the year 2012, thus showing an increase of 26.7% during the year 2013. The rate of

crime committed against women was 52.2 in 2013. Crime head wise, 38% of the total crimes

against women were related to the head „Cruelty by husband and relatives‟, followed by

„Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty‟ (23%), „Kidnapping & Abduction‟

(17%) and „Rape‟ (11%). (Crime in India, 2013). [ CITATION Muk15 \l 10250 ]
 3. Declining number of female child population in India

3.1. Female feticide

India has one of the highest female

feticide incidents in the world. It stands

exposed from declining number of

female child population in the age

group of 0-6 years from 78.83 million

in 2001 to 75.84 million in 2011.

During the period 1991-2011, the child

sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 945 to 914.103 (ACHR, 2016)

According to a study “Children in India 2012- A Statistical Appraisal” conducted by the Central

Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government

of India, nearly three million girls were “missing”in 2011 compared to 2001 due to female

infanticide. (ACHR, 2016)

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in its 2013-2014 Annual Report stated, “Some of

the reasons commonly put forward to explain the consistently low levels of sex ratio are son

preference, neglect of the girl child resulting in higher mortality at younger age, female

infanticide, female foeticide, higher maternal mortality and male bias in enumeration of

population. Easy availability of the sex determination tests and abortion services may also be

proving to be catalyst in the process, which may be further stimulated by pre-conception sex

selection facilities. Sex determination techniques have been in use in India since 1975 primarily

for the determination of genetic abnormalities. However, these techniques were widely misused

to determine the sex of the foetus and subsequent elimination if the foetus was found to be

female.” (ACHR, 2016)

A study, based on a national survey of 1.1 million Indian households and published in Lancet

journal on 9 January 2006, claimed that nearly 500,000 female babies were lost in India every
year because of sex selective abortion. The study claimed that 10 million female births might

have been aborted in India in the past 20 years. The study discovered that the “girl deficit” was

more common among educated families, especially in homes where the first-born was a girl.

(ACHR, 2016)

The custom of Gender Selective Abortion has been the key cause of low gender ratios in India.

It is assumed that to be born a girl is the worst curse and crime. It is regarded as a punishment

for the whole life for parents and the girl herself. The parental preference for son is nothing new.

No doubt preference for a male child over a female child is universal but in Indian society, a girl

has always been blamed for all the misery and misfortune. Religions, traditions and customs too

play their respective part. Value attached to sons is well explained in the blessings and good

wishes contained in a number of verses used in marriage rituals.[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

The practice of female feticide is not new in India. It is a severe demonstration of violence

against women. Female feticide means deliberate slaughter of a fetus after getting it diagnosed

as a female fetus. The trend of female feticide is far stronger in the metropolitan or urban areas

rather than rural areas and between the literate and cultured rather than the illiterate. Gender

choice has become a flourishing business in many areas in India. Sadly, every time a woman

gives birth to a girl, she is exposed to a successive pregnancies and subsequent terminations till

she gives birth to a male child. No one can sense the amount of trauma, pain, stress, disturbance

and suffering a woman undergoes both physiologically as well as psychologically each time she

undergoes an abortion.[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

In a modern time, Female feticide--the selective abortion of female fetuses, females not only

face discrimination in this culture, they are even denied the right to be born female feticide

determined by many factors, but mostly by the vision of having to pay a dowry to the upcoming

bridegroom of a daughter. While birth of the baby boy offer refuge of their families in old time

and can execute the rites for the souls of late parents and ancestors, daughters are treated as a

social and economic encumber. In India feticide is a moderately new practice, rising
concurrently with the advent of technological advancements in prenatal sex determination on a

large scale in the 1990s. Detection technologies have been distorted, allowing the selective

abortions of female offspring to proliferate.[ CITATION Raj14 \l 10250 ]

Education of younger generation plays no role in controlling female feticide, as household

finance are managed by older generation, who are in need of male heirs, in Northern India. Age

at marriage is mostly below 18 years, and sex determination following unsafe abortions leading

to pregnancy complications is prevalent. Strict laws against sex determination exist; so does

equal rights for men and women but the enforcement and amendments are needed. Awareness

and financial independence for younger generations. [ CITATION Roh12 \l 10250 ]

The desire for a male heir is so strong in some countries that it can lead to the infanticide of

female babies. A recent development of thishas been an increasing number of abortions of

female foetuses after an ultrasound reveals their sex. Estimates of the number of ‘missing’ girls

and women due to such practices vary, but some are as high as 100 million.

In India, a study of 1.1 million households came to the conclusion that: “Based on conservative

assumptions, the practice accounts for about 0.5 million missing female births yearly.” It

continues: “Anecdotal evidence suggests that access to ultrasound is fairly widespread, even in

rural areas, and although prenatal sex determination has been illegal since 1994 the law is often

ignored.”9 Over the past two decades, this “translates into the abortion of some 10 million

female foetuses.”10 The practice is more common among educated families than poor

households.ould be a possible measure to counter the prevalent malpractices influenced by

society at large[ CITATION Nik07 \l 10250 ]

In India, there have been a number of campaigns to end the sex selection of boy children before

birth. In Haryana State, where sex ratio imbalances are among the highest in the country,

women have banded together to form jagriti mandals (forums of awakening) aimed at

promoting the rights of their daughters. To counter huge profits in sex identification services
and abortions, these groups convince families and doctors of the broader social costs.

[ CITATION Nik07 \l 10250 ]

In Punjab, religious leaders have issued diktats and have threatened to excommunicate couples

who abort female foetuses. Plan, together with the Indian Government, produced a 13-part soap

opera ‘Atmajaa’ (Born from the Soul) to highlight prenatal diagnostic tests and to try and

change opinion on the issue. They felt that using a Bollywood style soap, rather than a lack-

lustre government warning, would reach a wider audience and start the process of change.

[ CITATION Nik07 \l 10250 ]

In 2005 the well-known and colourful religious leader and social activist, Swami Agnivesh, led

a caravan of 25 vehicles and 200 people across five Indian states to campaign against female

foeticide. “If you want to save your religion, you have to save your daughter first. God created

the same sun and moon for both the sexes, so who are we to discriminate against the girl

child?”, he said.[ CITATION Nik07 \l 10250 ]

3.2. Female Infanticide

Another form of eliminating the girl child has been

the practice of female infanticide. It is a deliberate

and intentional act of killing a female child within

one year of its birth either directly by using

poisonous organic and inorganic chemicals or

indirectly by deliberate neglect to feed the infant by

either one of the parents or other family members

or neighbours or by the midwife. Kolloor (1990)

defines infanticide as, “Killing of an entirely

dependent child under “one year of age” who is

killed by mother, parents or others in whose care the child is entrusted”. It is unfortunate that the

parents also view her as a liability. This attitude is rooted in a complex set of social, cultural,
and economic factors. It is the dowry system, lack of economic independence, social customs

and traditions that have relegated the female to a secondary status. The degree may vary but the

neglect of the girl child and discrimination goes hand-in- hand. (Tandon & Sharma, 2006)

It is reported that female infanticide existed in India since 1789 in several districts of Rajasthan;

along the western shores in Gujarat – Surat and Kutch; and among a clan of Rajputs in eastern

part of Uttar Pradesh. Desai (1988) reported that female infanticide was so widespread in Jadeja

(Rajput) families of Kutch and Saurashtra that only five of such families were found who had

not killed their ‘new-born’ daughters. There are alarming reports of the baby girls being

murdered even in areas where this practice did not exist earlier. Poverty, ignorance of family

planning, cost of dowry, etc. have been reported as the possible causes for this

crime[ CITATION Sne06 \l 10250 ]

4. Causes Leading To Female Feticide and Female Infanticide

In India female Feticide is taking place for various factors viz. economic, socioritual, and

technological.

4.1. Gender discrimination: The bias against females in India is grounded in cultural,

economic and religious roots. Sons are expected to work in the fields, provide

greater income and look after parents in old age. In this way, sons are looked upon

as a type of insurance. In addition, in a patriarchal society, sons are responsible for

“preservation” of the family name. Also, as per Hindu belief, lighting the funeral

pyre by a son is considered necessary for salvation of the spirit.This strong

preference for sons which results in a life-endangering deprivation of daughters, is

not considered abhorrent culturally and socially. In north India, girls currently

constitute about 60% of the unwanted births and the elimination of unwanted

fertility in this manner has the potential to raise the sex ratio at birth to 130 boys per

100 girls. (Garg S, 2008)

 Gender discrimination manifests itself in the form of delay in seeking medical care,

seeking care from less qualified doctors and spending lesser money on medicines

when a daughter is sick. (Garg S, 2008)

The extreme disappointment of a mother as a result of a daughter’s birth can

adversely affect her ability to breastfeed the girl child, which leads to poor

nutritional status. It is no wonder that the prevalence of malnutrition and stunting is

higher in girls than boys. (Garg S, 2008)

4.2. Economic Factors: the female Foeticide in the 21st century have a great deal to do

with capitalist modernity. There are aspects of it lying behind these phenomena.
 For rural households with landed property there is a clear inverse correlation

between the income level and child sex ratio. It is especially evident in south

India. Again there is gender based wage level. For the same work females are

paid less remuneration. In most cases women enter in the domestic non-paid

services which a patriarchal society gives little or no value at all, so they are

regarded as liability than assets.

 Cultural politics of dowry in the Indian society have a lot of answer for this

pernicious phenomenon. Since the turn of century the recorded dowry deaths are

increasing. Nearly 7- 8000 per year brides are murdered for the lack of full

payment of dowry. Nearly 3-5000 brides are committing suicides for dowry.

Brides are thought as commodities and the pre marriage and marriage have been

described as ‘consumption oriented reproductive journey’. When the reproductive

practices make daughters into such economic burden, the threat of having to

amass dowry is motive enough to dispose female commodities (Barbara Harriss-

White, 2009)
 The female foeticide has been commodified. It has started to become a field of

accumulation in its own right. Malini Bhattachgarya, the member of the national

commission for women, admitted that in the era of liberalisation “one has to

allow freedom of choice to the service seeker and the freedom to sell by the

service provider”. Foeticide may cost one or two month’s earnings, while dowry

requires mobilisation of several years’ income. Hence there appears equilibrium

 between service seeker and provider. UNICEF estimates that the turnover of

foeticide industry has now reached 244 million dollar from 77 million dollar in

2006. (Barbara Harriss-White, 2009). Those who disapproved of the practice of

sex selective abortions but engaged in it against their principles expressed their

compulsions and helplessness due to pressures arising out of unhealthy

competition in the health care service sector. It was said that if they did not

provide abortion care services, some others would have provided them (Tandon

and Sharma, 2008)

 the prevalence of prenatal sex determination is more widespread among the

economically well-off because availing of such services is determined by one’s

ability to pay. Thus, the rich agriculturalists living in the rural areas of Punjab,

Haryana and Gujarat and the urban elite living in the metropolis of Delhi tend to

avail of sex-selective abortion. Similarly, transition from a rural agrarian

economy to urban economy has not prevented Jat couples from using prenatal sex

determination and sex-selective abortion to achieve smaller family size through

reduction in the number of daughters in the family. On the other hand, in

matriarchal societies in the northeastern states of India, women control land

holding and have a better say in matters related to family, economy and society.

This has resulted in a slight preference for daughters in states like Meghalaya.

(Garg S, 2008)
4.3. Socio-ritual factors: females are vulnerable to brutalities of the male in the forms

of physical, mental and sexual assaults and traumas in the patriarchal societal

structure of India. Females are subjugated, condemned, and deprived in sphere of

life. Every parents of a girl child is at risk for their daughter in this patriarchal

society for the mentioned causes. Again for the funeral ceremonies of the parents,

presence of a son is a must. According to Manu, A man cannot attain moksha

(redemption) unless he has a son to light his funeral pyre. In old age thesons will

care for them believably. These socio-rituals factors including illiteracy and
orthodox society norms lead to crave for a male baby, discarding the females one

after another.
 Dowry: The evil practice of dowry is widely prevalent in India. As a result,

daughters are considered to be an economic liability. The dowry system is

more rigid in the northern states of India which is likely to contribute to the

lesser child sex ratio. Women have little control over economic resources

and the best way for a young north Indian bride to gain domestic power

mainly comes from her ability to produce children, in particular, sons.[30]

Most often in south Indian communities, marriages are not exogamous (but

often consanguineous), and married daughters usually stay close socially

and geographically to their original family. Until recently, dowries were

unheard of and benefits of inheritance for the daughters were not ruled out.

In the Muslim community, paying of high dowry is not a prevalent practice.

[32] Also consanguineous marriages are highly prevalent and women are

entitled to a portion of parental inheritance. (Garg S, 2008)

 Girl as a burden: The evil of dowry system has led to a belief that daughters

have to be protected and sufficient financial resources have to be

accumulated to support the marriage of the girl. Boys on the other hand are

considered as assets, who fetch a fabulous dowry for the parents. It is a

deep rooted instinct of the culture of Haryana that girl is always considered

as a Praya Dhan. Moreover, there is thinking among the respondents that a

large amount is required for her marriage. Whether she is educated or not,

to get a good bridegroom it requires a lot of money in the form of dowry. If

girl is educated, the problem becomes even worse, because ‘higher the

education, higher the expenditure on marriage to maintain the status’. Even

after marriage, girls in Haryana remain liability towards parents and

brothers in the form of gifts (Siddha & Kothli) on various festivals every

year and in the form of Sindhara (on the occasion of 1st Teej festival after

marriage), Pillia (on the birth of a baby), Chhucchhak (when after delivery
 she visits her Mayka), Bhaat (at the time of her children’s marriage). She

remains burden on parental family till the end of her life. This has created a

stereo-type notion of girl as a “burden” on the household (Rani, 2014)

 According to (Manu), a woman has to be reborn as a man to attain moksha

(redemption). A man cannot attain moksha unless he has a son to light his

funeral pyre. Also, it says a woman who gives birth to only daughters may

be left in the eleventh year of marriage. (Srivastava, 2014)

 Son desire: Indian society is patrilineal, patriarchal and patrilocal. Among

the Hindus, the reproduction and heredity beliefs are governed by the laws

of Manu. Following this law, Hindus believe that a man cannot attain

redemption unless he has a son to light his funeral pyre. Besides religious

consideration, economic, social and emotional desires favour males, as

parents expect sons but non daughters to provide financial support,

especially in their old age.[ CITATION Raj14 \l 10250 ]

4.4. Technological factors: Increased availability of advanced technologies, especially

ultrasonography (USG), has been the single most important factor responsible for

decrease in sex ratios and increase in female feticides.[ CITATION Gee14 \l

10250 ]
The tests like Amniocentesis and ultrasoundgraphy, which were originally designed

for detection of congenital abnormalities of the fetus, are being misused for

knowing the sex of the fetus with the intention of aborting it if it happens to be that

of a female. Thus, female feticide and infanticide is receiving fillip through misuse

of technology, done surreptitiously with the active connivance of the service

providers.[ CITATION Raj14 \l 10250 ]

In India over 25000 prenatal units have been registered. Facilities of sex

determination through “clinic next door” are now conveniently available with the

families willing to dish out any amount that is demanded of them. The easy

availability of mobile scanning machines has translated into brisk business for

doctors. Sex selection techniques became popular in the western and northwestern

states in the late 70s and early 80s whilst they are becoming popular in the South
 now.The sex of a fetus can be determined at 13-14 weeks of pregnancy by trans-

vaginal sonography and by 14-16 weeks through abdominal ultrasound. These

methods have rendered early sex determination inexpensive, feasible and easily

accessible. Although various preconception techniques that help in choosing the

fetal sex have been described, their use is not widespread due to higher costs.[16]

There are several other factors that have a bearing upon the child sex ratio (Garg S,

2008)[ CITATION Sam11 \l 10250 ]

Female foeticide is a latest trend of long established gender bias. We are civilized

with time and our killing female babes have also been civilized. The presence of

low-cost technologies like ultrasound, have led to sex-based abortion of female

fetuses, and an increasingly smaller percentage of girls born each year (Jain, 2005)

[ CITATION Sam11 \l 10250 ]

4.5. Population Policy: Indian family planning policies promote a two-child family and

healt workers say this often leads to abortion of female foetuses in efforts to have a

"complete family" with at least one son. (Sen, 2005)[ CITATION Sam11 \l 10250 ]

4.6. Education and the gender skew

The more educated a women is, the more likely she is to actively choose a boy,

assuming that she decides to have one child. The only educated women likely to

keep daughters are the very independent minded. Educated men, especially in the

business class, also want to have sons to carry on their business.[ CITATION

Raj14 \l 10250 ]

4.7. Weak implementation of laws

The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act,

1994, prohibits determination of sex of the fetus. It also provides for mandatory

registration of genetic counselling centres, clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

However, the implementation of the law is weak and it has not been used to the

fullest. The focus has been only on the registration of the number of ultrasound
 machines and not on the actual act of abortions of female fetuses. Furthermore, in

several cases the accused have not been booked under relevant sections of the Act.[

CITATION Raj14 \l 10250 ]

5. Social Action To Control Female Feticide:

 People both in rural as well as in urban areas have to be made aware about the need of a

female child in the social

milieu as that of a son. A

progressive legislation alone

cannot solve social problems.

The people must be aware of

the progressive legislation which has certain deterrent facts. Many women are

compelled to undergo tests and seek abortion on acceptable as well as unacceptable

grounds under compulsion. A new spirit has to be imbibed propagating that a female

child is not a curse. It is not a liability. It is not a drain on economy. It is not an

instrument through which dowry has to be given. A feeling has to be nurtured that she is

the daughter, she is the mother and she is the life partner. Foeticide can not be

controlled unless the equation changes and families begin to value their daughters more

than they do at present. It does not take much to kill an infant daughter even without the

aid of technology, if she is unwanted.

Among all the factors, which need attention, education is the most important. In parts of

South Asia where education and employment opportunities for women are relatively

high, the female to male ratio is comparable to that the developed countries.

[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

 If we want to stop the female foeticide or neglect of women, we have to stop looking

for quick fixes and instead face the problem squarely. There is no way to ensure the

healthy survival of baby girls unless families find them worth nurturing. That is indeed

a complex task, which allows for no easy short-term solutions. The activist’s

intervention has not led to curbing sex determination tests. The real challenge before us
 is to figure out ways in which a realization of the value of daughters can be enhanced in

the eyes of their own families. All those who have a stake in it apart from the

government authorities, such as women’s group, health groups, non-governmental

organizations, the educationist, the media and most importantly the medical

professionals have to play their fair role to see that the provisions are implemented and

the provisions are strengthened by amendments of the act. Unless social action is

supplemented with prompt implementation of regulations under the law meant to stop

female foeticide, such practices will continue to flourish. To ensure smiles on the faces

of our youth, both boys and girls, let us intensify joint efforts to root out unhealthy

social elements, ‘Now’ since future depends upon what we do in the

present[ CITATION Dev \l 10250 ]

5.1. Measures of the national governments to counter female infanticide

India enacted the Pre-natal Diagonostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act,

1994 (PNDT Act) to address sex selective abortion. The PNDT Act seeks to prohibit and

regulate the use of diagnostics techniques before and or after conception for sex determination

leading to sex selective elimination of foetus. Measures of the national governments to counter

female infanticide[ CITATION Asi16 \l 10250 ]

India also enacted the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971 to regulate and

ensure access to safe abortions. The MTP Act of 1971 (amended in 2002) allows abortion up to

20 weeks of pregnancy in cases where “the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk

to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health”, or, “there

is substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental

abnormalities to be seriously handicapped”.[CITATION Asi16 \l 10250 ]

While the government of India does not have any official data on illegal abortions, the Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare has unambiguously acknowledged that “Although abortions were

made legal in 1971, actually illegal abortions still outnumber legal abortions by a large margin.
It is estimated that 10-15 thousand women die every year due to complications resulting from

unsafe abortions conducted at unapproved places by untrained providers.”181 The official

number on abortions varies. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s report

“Health and Family Welfare Statistics in India 2013”, a total of 6,49,795 medical termination of

pregnancies (or abortions) were performed during 2008-2009; 6,75,810 during 2009-2010;

6,48,469 during 2010-2011; 6,25,448 during 2011-2012 and 6,36,010 during 2012-2013.182

Further on 6 August 2013, then Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mr Ghulam Nabi

Azad told the Rajya Sabha that a total of 11.06 lakh abortions were recorded in the year 2008-09

in India[ CITATION Asi16 \l 10250 ]

6. Conclusion:

Female feticide not only denies the girl child her most basic human right - the right to be born -

but it also turns women into silent victims. When there may be emergence of the situation where

brides will not be available for the marriage of the sons to maintain lineage and continue the

human race of even those people who believe on long standing tradition of son preference, that

“only sons can offer Pyre Pindadana, Mukhagni and not the daughters”. Men in the states of

Haryana and Punjab are already experiencing a nearly 20% deficit of marriageable women. As

Swami Agnivesh, religious leader and social activist, said last year when talking about feticides:

“There’s no other form of violence that’s more painful, more abhorrent, more shameful”. It is

felt that the mindsets of the people should be changed right from now towards the importance of

the girl child in the family in both rural and urban area. There is an urgent need to alter the

demographic composition of India’s population and to tackle this brutal form of violence against

women.[ CITATION Gee14 \l 10250 ]

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