Female Foeticide In India- Female foeticide, often known as “foeticide,” is the illegal termination of a female fetus in India. According to a Pew Research Center study based on statistics from the Union government, between 2000 and 2019 there were at least 9 million females who committed foeticide. According to the study, Hindus (80% of the population) were responsible for 86.7% of these foeticides. Sikhs (1.7% of the population) came in second with 4.9%, followed by Muslims (14% of the population) with 6.6%. The findings also showed a general fall in people’s desire for boys throughout that time.
Any number above the supposed natural sex ratio of 103 to 107 men for every 100 females is seen as suggestive of female foeticide. The sex ratio in India’s 0 to 6 age group has increased from 102.4 males per 100 females in 1961 to 104.2 in 1980, 107.5 in 2001, and 108.9 in 2011, according to the country’s decennial census.
Female Foeticide In India
All of India’s eastern and southern states fall within the normal child sex ratio range, however several western and especially northwestern states, like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, have much higher child sex ratios (118, 120, and 116, as of 2011, respectively). The child sex ratio was determined to be 113 in the 2011 census of the western states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan, 112 in Gujarat, and 111 in Uttar Pradesh.
Due to sex-selective “stopping practices,” the sex ratio is bad when women have one or two children but improves when they have more children, according to Indian census data (stopping having children based on the sex of those born). According to census data from India, there is a link between higher socioeconomic position and literacy levels, and anomalous sex ratios.
This could be related to the Indian dowry system, where girls who are viewed as a financial burden often die in dowries. According to 1991, 2001, and 2011 Census data, urban India has a higher child-sex ratio than rural India, which suggests that female foeticide is more common in urban India. Similar to this, areas, where Hindus make up the majority, have child sex ratios of over 115 boys for every 100 girls, whereas those with Muslim, Sikh, or Christian majorities have “normal” child sex ratios of 104 to 106 boys for every 100 girls.
These facts imply that some educated, wealthy parts of Indian society or a particular religion engage in the practice of sex selection.
The question of whether female foeticide alone is the only factor contributing to these high sex ratios or whether natural factors also play a role in some of them is still being debated. Female Foeticide In India Prenatal sex screening and female foeticide were outlawed and punished by the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT), which was passed by the Indian government in 1994. Currently, it is prohibited in India to ascertain or reveal the fetus’s sex to anyone. There are worries that the PCPNDT Act has not been properly implemented by the government.
Crime And High Sex Ratio Implications
High sex ratios can affect a variety of things, such as crime. According to Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera’s 2000 study, districts with a higher proportion of females actually have lower murder rates. Female Foeticide In India In India, murder rates are correlated with the female-to-male ratio.
It is challenging to demonstrate a direct causal link between a high sex ratio and crime, which is challenging in transitional economies because there are so many other factors at play. For instance, the majority of India, particularly the northern states, has a long history of having a high sex ratio. Female Foeticide In India The unfavorable sex ratio, however, does not necessarily mean “bare branches,” as males frequently marry women in all age cohorts, from those who are typically very young to those who are only somewhat older.
Additionally, the overall growth in population, the increasing emigration of educated and competent men to other nations, and the sourcing of women from other countries/regions have all helped to temper the negative association between crime and sex ratio in India.
India may thus present an example that deviates from the general trend. For instance, Qingyuan Du and Shang-Jin Wei suggested that greater sex ratios result in higher savings rates, current account surpluses, and lower exchange rates in a 2010 National Bureau of Economic Research report. Female Foeticide In India. The idea is that males increase their savings rate in order to get a competitive advantage in the marriage market.
How To Change This Scenario:
It is necessary to alter people’s mindsets and attitudes, especially those of young adults, in order to address the persistently unfavorable sex ratio. By using mass media campaigns and the active participation of social and religious groups, the government should take advantage of this opportunity and work to promote widow remarriages and lessen the threat of dowry.
The government may even consider programs like providing honeymoon packages and discounted housing for such couples in order to encourage widow remarriages and marriages without dowries. The government can think about providing a “mothering allowance” to the mother for the first six years following the birth of a girl child in order to deter female infanticide.
India may also think about providing incentives like implementing gender-based quotas in workplaces and colleges. Couples with only daughters may also be eligible for an older-than-average universal old-age pension that begins at age 55 and is higher than the standard pension. Female Foeticide In India By the time of the subsequent 2021 Census, there should be a more balanced child sex ratio as a result of these.
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