Frontline
July 2001 
Gender

Where have all the girls gone?

Stung by the latest census figures that show an alarming decline in the male-female ratio in many Indian states — clearly pointing to the indiscriminate use of ultrasound, amniocentesis and other pre–natal sex detection techniques — the Supreme Court of India has directed the Union and state governments to stringently enforce the existing law banning sex determination and selection procedures. The order follows a pending PIL that was filed by the Centre for Inquiry Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) and the Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM).

In its April 4 order, the SC said that the Pre–Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) (PNDT) Act, 1994 must be strictly implemented by the central and state governments and amended if necessary to plug loopholes. The apex court also directed authorities to launch a vigorous media campaign against female foeticide and the practice of pre–natal sex determination.

The Supreme Court has directed all states to file affidavits detailing steps to stop sex determination tests. The Medical Council has also recommended the de–registration of doctors found guilty of the crime.

The PNDT Act was in response to a concerted campaign launched by women’s organisations in the eighties against the deleterious impact of sex pre–selection techniques. Maharashtra that played a leading role in the campaign was also the first state to enact a state law prohibiting such sex pre–selection techniques long before the national legislation was contemplated and thereafter, enacted.

The petition by CEHAT and MASUM had noted that sex determination was now possible even before conception by a method called pre–natal genetic diagnosis. The new technique allows sperm to be processed in a laboratory so that the XX and XY chromosomes are separated, ensuring the birth of a boy. The petition has warned that unless drastic steps were taken against it, the country would face severe consequences in the near future.

The provisional census figures on the declining sex ratio in the country confirm the petitioners’ worst fears. Ironically, the sex ratio is declining even in Maharashtra, the state that launched a campaign against sex–determination tests, the state that was the first to enact a law against it, the state that is generally considered to be the most progressive in the country. According to provisional figures available from the latest census, in Mumbai, there are only 774 females per 1000 males, which is a decline from the ’91 ratio of 791 to 1000. Experiencing a consistent free fall for the last two decades, Maharashtra’s sex ratio was clocked at 922 females per 1000 males, down from 934 in 1991 and 937 in 1981.

But the most dramatic drop in the sex ratio has been reported from Punjab and Haryana, states that are among the most economically advanced in the country. According to the latest census figures, the sex ratio in Punjab has decreased from 882 females per 1,000 males in 1991 to 874 in 2001. While Punjab’s population grew by 19.76 per cent since the last census, the sex ratio has deteriorated further, pointing towards a poor social development index for women. Though the sex ratio rose continuously from 1911 to 1991, it has recorded a decline over the last two decades.

After the latest census exercise, Punjab was placed 29th among all states and Union Territories. Haryana had a slightly lower ratio of 874 and Chandigarh was placed 34th with a mere 773 as against the national average of 933. Ludhiana district, which recorded the maximum growth in terms of population, ranks last among Punjab’s 17 districts as far as sex ratio is concerned, recording 824 as compared to 844 females per 1000 males in the previous census.

Amniocentesis-based female foeticides are the highest in Haryana and Punjab amongst the educated middle–class families who believe in the small–family norm and exercise their ‘son-preference’ by routinely getting rid of girl foetuses.

Stunned by media reports of female foeticide in Punjab, the Sikh religious leadership has been jolted into addressing the issue frontally. The Jathedar of Akal Takht, Joginder Singh Vedanti declared that female foeticide was against Sikh tenets and violative of the Sikh "Rehat Maryada". He has warned that any one indulging in this crime against the girl child would be declared a "tankhaiya" (guilty of religious misconduct) and excommunicated.

According to reports in different sections of the media, the Jathedar has received innumerable complaints from co-religionists that a large number of Sikhs are indulging in female foeticide. Evidently, both in rural and urban areas, Sikhs are being drawn towards newly opened sex–determination clinics. The so–called ‘son–fixation syndrome’ is what is prompting an increasing number of families to indulge in female foeticide.

 


 


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