The tragedy of India’s never-born girlsThe tragedy of India’s never-born girls

• Dr.Shambhu N Gupta

• City Hospital• 45 Model Colony• Sri ganganagar-

335001

NamesteyNamestey……..Yatra Naryastu Pujyante..Yatra Naryastu Pujyante

Ramnate Tatra Devta…….Ramnate Tatra Devta…….

“Laskmi bushyate Roopam

Lakshmi Bhushyate Kulam

Lakshmi Bhushyate Vidyam

Sada Lakshmi Vishishyate”---Maharishi Agastya Krit Lakshmi

Sutram

"Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females."

• It is the worst form of abuse of Human rights of a girl child.

• Women are worshipped as 'Shakti', 'Durga' but speaking in more practical terms men find it difficult to respect women.

• Destruction of female fetus is a clear violation of human rights of the child.

Pre-Birth Elimination of FemalesPre-Birth Elimination of FemalesAn Immoral PracticeAn Immoral Practice

• When Girls go missing in a society.• When a child is denied the right to life

only because she is a girl.• Discrimination starts when a girl is in

a womb and continues till the grave.• When a girl’s right to bloom and

blossom is nipped in the bud.

  Can you sit back and ignore it ???

Declining sex-ratio in IndiaDeclining sex-ratio in India• In March 2001, India’s population was estimated to

be 1.03 billion from 967 million in 1997. What did not rise, however, but rather—declined precipitously—was the proportion of females in the 0 to 6-year age range.

• Although the natural sex ratio slightly favors boys at birth, sex ratios have been steadily falling.

• In 1961 = 976 girls born for every 1000 boys • In 2001 = 927 girls born for every 1000 boys• according to the latest 896 girls born for every

1000 boys.

Declining sex-ratioDeclining sex-ratio

• There are at least 60 to 100 million missing women Due to Female infanticide and sex-selective feticide which leads to decline in child sex-ratios .

• In developed nations, birth ratios are roughly equal. In a number of regions in India however, ratios have now plummeted to 800 girls born for every 1000 boys.

• In some small towns, such as Fatehgarh Sahib, located in the prosperous region of the Punjab, the 2001 census revealed that the female-to-male sex ratio had declined to a miserable 754. Needless to say, this has population analysts and authorities alike made worried. Very worried.

Sex ratio in the State and Union territories in the age Sex ratio in the State and Union territories in the age group 0-6 years ( Slide-1)group 0-6 years ( Slide-1)Sl.No State 1991 2001 Absolute Change

1 Punjab 875 793 -822 Haryana 879 820 -593 Himachal Pradesh 951 897 -544 Chandigarh 899 845 -545 Gujrat 928 878 -506 Delhi 915 865 -507 Uttaranchal 948 906 -428 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1013 973 -409 Daman & Dio 958 925 -33

10 Goa 964 933 -3111 Maharashtra 946 917 -2912 Arunachal Pradesh 982 961 -2113 Nagaland 993 975 -1814 Orissa 967 950 -1715 Bihar 953 938 -1516 Manipur 974 961 -1317 Jharkhand 979 966 -13

Sex ratio in the State and Union territories in the age Sex ratio in the State and Union territories in the age group 0-6 years ( Slide-2)group 0-6 years ( Slide-2)

18 Madhya Pradesh 941 929 -1219 Meghalaya 986 975 -1120 Uttar Pradesh 927 916 -1121 Assam 975 964 -1122 Karnataka 960 949 -1123 Andhra Pradesh 975 964 -1124 Chhattisgarh 984 975 -925 Tamil Nadu 948 939 -926 Andman & Nicobar Islands 973 965 -8

27 Rajasthan 916 909 -728 Pondicherry 963 958 -529 West Bengal 967 963 -430 Lakshadweep 941 974 3331 Sikkim 965 974 2132 Tripura 967 975 833 Kerala 958 963 534 Mizoram 969 971 235 Jammu & Kashmir NA 937 NA

INDIA 945 927 -18

Rajasthan: Child sex ratio in the age group Rajasthan: Child sex ratio in the age group 0-6 years (Slide-1)0-6 years (Slide-1)

S.No Districts 1991 2001 Change in Points

1 Ganganagar 894 852 -422 Jhunjhunjunu 900 867 -333 Jaipur 925 897 -284 Alwar 914 888 -265 Chitorhgarh 951 927 -246 Hanumangarh 897 873 -247 Seekar 904 882 -228 Barmer 901 922 -219 Dausa 919 900 -19

10 Dhaullpur 875 859 -1611 Jahalawar 944 929 -1512 Udaipur 958 944 -1413 Kota 914 902 -1214 Baran 930 918 -1215 Dongarpur 974 963 -1116 Tonk 931 922 -917 Rajsamand 943 935 -818 Boondi 915 908 -7

Rajasthan: (Slide-2)Rajasthan: (Slide-2)24 nagpur 918 920 225 karauli 873 876 326 sawai madhopur 894 900 727 Jodhpur 913 920 728 Churu 904 912 829 Ajmer 913 923 1030 jalar 909 924 1531 Jaisalmer 851 867 1632 Pali 896 927 31

Entire State 916 909 -7

What causes the shortage of girlsWhat causes the shortage of girls

• Poverty? No, some of poorest areas have no missing girl problem. But economic considerations matter.

• Political or economic system? (No).• Illiteracy, low educational level? (No).• Indian culture? YES.• Low fertility? YES. Combined with son

preference.• One-child policy? Maybe.

Why a girl child is deprived of her right to life?Why a girl child is deprived of her right to life? • Is it because she is born in a Holy land like

India! Or is it because of the religious norms, which has lost their significance and charm in the hands of immoral interpreters of religious dictums.

• The time has come to debate upon and to choose between life and religious notion.

• It is unquestionable to say life is more sacred than any other holy custom and powerful than any established idiotic custom.

•

• The preference for boy in society is so strong that many women choose to abort rather than give birth to a girl.

• There is also religious faith that parents want a son. Because only male children can perform the last rites for their parents.

The factors responsible for Female The factors responsible for Female Feticide areFeticide are::

• In India, a preference for sons is influenced by social and economic factors.

• Parents desire sons because they carry on the family name, inherit family property.

• In the absence of social welfare plans, sons are often considered (rightly or wrongly) to be the sole means of support for aging parents.

• The high costs of providing a dowry means daughters are often viewed as paraya dhan (to be married and sent away)—another reason why females are singled out for abortion: or in its absence, infanticide.

• The tradition of dowry-giving in India has led to a massive amount of violence toward women.

• Dowry was a custom invented by women for women, a marker of their status .

• Women are forced to abort their female fetus owing to family pressure and the practice of dowry is responsible for this.

• Experts also blame decreasing numbers of girls on the two-child policy heavily promoted throughout the country.

• the perfect family involves one girl and one boy.”

• families are more likely to abort a female fetus if the first child is also a girl.

• Lack of education and awareness.

• Women are viewed as a liability because they are seen to need protection and because the benefits of investing in them increase to the families into which they are married.

• These factors along with a cultural and religious beliefs constitute the root causes for why sons are preferred and why daughters are not desired.

• In many regions, women who fail to deliver boys are harassed by their in-laws or thrown out on the street.

• On account of her gender, a girl child is typically denied health care and education and exploited economically.

• In these homes, women are valued more for their reproductive role, as mothers and sexual caretakers, than as productive citizens in their own right. They are more likely to be susceptible to family pressure for a son.

• Son preference and sex selective abortion are more likely to occur in wealthier families where the wife does not work outside the home.

• For the general population however, the desire for sons had not translated itself into the killing of daughters.

• With the promotion and adoption of the two-child norm the desire for at least one son seems to have become “intensified” and more and more families are seeking (and being encouraged to seek) PBEF services.

• But with the availability of sex determination technology son desperate families were afforded a “clean” means to rid themselves of daughters and rapidly gained popularity among and groups.

• Other forms of discrimination include:

Far worse is the prevalence of female infanticide:

• Lacing their feed with pesticides• Forcing down a few grains of poppy

seed or rice husk to their throat• Stuffing their mouths with black salt or

urea• Starving them to death• Suffocating them with a wet towel or bag

of sand

• No Or Fewer months of breast feeding.

• Less encouragement and play.• Less care or medical treatment.

• Less ‘special’ food. Less parental attention.

• Rubbing poison on the mother’s breast, so that the baby girl is poisoned as she suckles.

Why do baby girls dieWhy do baby girls die??• Improvement in medical technology

has made it possible to determine the sex of the unborn child and there is a visible proliferation of ultrasound clinics even in rural areas.

• Modern technology has helped to kill unwanted baby girls while still in the womb.

• While in the early `80s, families with 3-4 daughters, sought out sex determination services to ensure the birth of a son.

But Now families are going in for such services for even the first pregnancy.

Recently, a study estimated that in Haryana and Punjab (1996-98), sex selective abortions accounted for 81 and 76 per cent of total induced abortions respectively.

• Although the practice of female infanticide stretches back into olden times, the availability of amniocentesis in the 1980s.

• Later, ultrasound, has enabled families to divest themselves of unwanted girls well before birth.

• Research evidence is limited, but some disturbing new findings have begun to confirm the most pessimistic suspicions – a large proportion of abortions are sex selective.

• The pre-birth elimination of females (PBEF) is not restricted to any particular group; it is a nationwide phenomenon .

• Similarly, the preliminary results of a study from Bombay show that 10 per cent of a sample of women who had undergone abortions said they has done so to remove female fetuses; 4 per cent said if the baby has been born they would have killed it.

• “If you can afford to buy a car, a refrigerator and a microwave, then maybe you can afford to make sure you have a son as well.” Family structure also plays a role.

• . In the `80s and `90s clinics (particularly in Punjab, Haryana and Bombay) advertised blatantly; playing deviously on the sentiment of free choice a common slogan on billboards, on walls and in newspapers, was;

• “Boy or girl? You can choose.”

• All over the country thousands of female fetuses were aborted. And millions of families become aware for the fist time of the possibility of choosing the sex of their offspring.

• Although existing laws ban sex-determination testing, fully 60 million girls are now ‘missing’—effectively falling into a demographic black hole from which, analysts fear, there will be no return.

• According to government reports, as many as 2 million fetuses are aborted each year for no other reason than they happen to be female.

• In Punjab, the government claims that the numbers of missing girls will increase by 40 per cent in the forthcoming generation.

• Furthermore, while legislation may be an important first step towards the elimination of the practice, the deeper problem of gender discrimination needs to be addressed alongside effective law enforcement.

• Sex selection occurs when modernization moves ahead of sense of equity.

• It is the ultimate manifestation of discrimination.

• It is particularly cruel. • It doesn’t affect your conscience

because there is no evidence.

The Effects of Sex Imbalances The Effects of Sex Imbalances in the Populationin the Population

• • The loss of so many female

lives constitutes nothing short of a silent and dangerous national tragedy.

• Evidence is also mounting that distorted sex ratios, combined with the traditional low status of Indian women, is beginning to have an effect on traditional concepts of the family.

• It is one of the worst forms of violence against women and a symptom of the discrimination – social, cultural and political – that continues throughout the life cycle of a woman.

• Inhuman and potentially destabilizing. Although speculative, analyses undertaken by the World Bank and other agencies point to a link between high numbers of males and increased crime and violence.

• Furthermore, a shortage of females does not necessarily translate into improved prospects for those who remain.

• Indeed, a small pool of marriageable women may only increase demand for trafficked women, both for the purposes of marriage and prostitution, and could force many girls to cut short their education in order to wed and bear children—all to meet demand for marriageable young women.

• In some regions, the age-old custom of dowry is now being reversed, with the families of young male suitors paying a stiff price for a wife for their sons.

• By far one of the worst consequences, notes Ena Singh, UNFPA Assistant Representative for India, is a rise of violence against women and girls. “There is already a problem with sexual violence in this country,” she says, “That either increases or decreases depending on the number of girls in a given society.

• I ask you, could you send your young daughter out into the street happily if there were nothing but young men around?”

Gender and violenceGender and violence• Sexual and gender-based violence, including

physical and psychological abuse,• trafficking in women and girls. • and other forms of abuse and sexual

exploitation place girls and women at high risk of physical and mental trauma, disease and unwanted pregnancy.

• Such situations often deter women from using health and other services.

• Violence may affect the reproductive health of women through:• the increase of sexual risk-taking among

adolescents, the transmission of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, and unplanned pregnancies.

• Consequences such as HIV/AIDS or unplanned pregnancies may in themselves act as risk factors for further aggression, forming a cycle of abuse. 

• Effects of violence may also be fatal as a result of intentional homicide, severe injury or suicide and represents a drain on the economically productive workforce

• It is, however, an uphill battle.

• Although Governments are motivated to control the use of PBEF.

Origins and Spread of Pre-natal Sex Origins and Spread of Pre-natal Sex DeterminationDetermination

• In India, amniocentesis and its abuse can be traced back to 1974.

• Originally, developed as a technique to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities by analyzing amniotic fluid, amniocentesis and other procedures such as chorionic villi biopsy (CVB) were soon utilized to “diagnose” females who could subsequently be aborted.

Pre-natal Sex Determination and Pre-natal Sex Determination and the Lawthe Law

• In 1988 as an outcome of intense lobbying Maharashtra passed legislation to regulate the misuse of prenatal diagnostic techniques and in 1994 the

• Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act (PNDT Act) was enacted at the central level.

• The enforcement of the Act was not effective; as a result sex determination (especially with the help of ultrasound scans) and PBEF continued through the ‘90s.

• The Act provides for the “regulation of the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of detecting

• 1. Genetic or metabolic disorders. • 2. Chromosomal abnormalities • 3. Certain congenital malformations • 4. Sex-linked disorders and • for the prevention of misuse of such

techniques or purpose of prenatal sex determination leading to female feticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

• One of the expressions of gender-based discrimination, this assert that selective elimination of females even before they are born.

• This is unacceptable and as women’s rights to survival and equality are non-negotiable.

• The Government of India is fully committed to gender equality and the principles of non-discrimination. These are amply expressed in India’s liberal Constitution,Directive Principles of State Policy and progressive social legislation.

The Human Rights at Issue:The Human Rights at Issue: • The human rights of children and the

girl-child include certain inseparable, interdependent and interrelated human rights like the:-

• Human right to freedom from discrimination based on gender, age, race, color, language, religion, society, or any other status, or on the status of the child's parents.

• Human right to equal access to food and nutrition.

• the human right to life and to freedom from prenatal sex selection.

• Human right to freedom from cultural practices, customs and traditions harmful to the child.

• Human right to freedom from forced or early marriage so on and so forth.

• Women form half of the human beings inhabiting planet Earth.

• Since human rights are the rights of all human beings, male and female alike, human rights are also women's rights.

• Women's rights are the basis of all human rights.

•

• Since the primary responsibility of any society is to bear and raise future generations.

• women's roles in reproduction must be held in the highest esteem and must not be permitted to become the basis for discrimination against women as women.

• Compelling women to bear unwanted children and forbidding women from bearing wanted children are violations of women's human rights.

• In addition to several other human rights instruments, the Government of India has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

• Both these instruments reaffirm the non-negotiable commitment to girls’ and women’s human rights, particularly their right to life and the State’s obligation to protect it.

•

• The National Population Policy 2000 (NPP 2000) acknowledges the practice of female feticide as contributing to the deficit of females in the country.

• While it does not specify any strategies to control the practice, NPP 2000 provides for promotional and motivational measures for the adoption of the small family norm and within it to promote the survival and care of the girl child through case incentives.

• How can their behavior/actions be changed and within what time frame (what “messages” do they need to change their behavior)?

• Who and what channels will need to be activated to bring about the desired change/s?

Where do we want to be?Where do we want to be?

• Our vision is that we want to be in a situation where society accords the same worth and status to women and men; where sons and daughters are equally valued.

What are the possible ways of reaching these goals in the immediate term?

• Effective law enforcement, intensive and sustained efforts with law enforcers, civil society organizations and service providers in order to stop the supply of sex determination services.

Who are the Who are the different groupsdifferent groups involved in the involved in the continuance/increase of PBEF?continuance/increase of PBEF?

• A number of individuals and groups are responsible for PBEF.

• If the female fetus, (indeed the very concept of the female fetus given pre-conception sex selection) is placed at the center, she is surrounded by a group, of those who influence the decision to eliminate her.

• These influencers are not separated but interact with one another.

• These individuals and influences, each of which has a role to play in either promoting or ending PBEF, can be categorized as follows:

• The primary service recipient is the woman who is pregnant or due to conceive.

• She may seek out the service out of her own “free will” (very rare) or because she is influenced (most frequent) by the next group of influencers or motivators.

Group One: Group One: The Service RecipientThe Service Recipient

• Group Two: Immediate Motivators

• The immediate motivators are those who motivate, inform, permit, encourage, pressurize, threaten or support the woman to seek out the service according to or against her will. This group consists of:

• husbands and other family members.

Group Three: Group Three: Service ProvidersService Providers

• This group consists of those who promote, provide, conduct sex determination services and influence, advise, and enable woman to undergo PBEF.

• This group consist trained and untrained service providers under various systems of medicine allopathic doctors (including ultrasonologist , gynecologists, obstetricians And other health service providers.

Group Four:Group Four: Social ActivistSocial Activist

• The silence or action of this group of civil society and other persons can very often bring about social change.

• They can play an important role in creating public opinion, pressurizing professionals and professional bodies, advocating with policy and decision makers, providing support services (e.g. counseling)

• Local leaders – social, religious and political leaders play an important role in influencing community opinions and attitudes.

• Medical bodies and fraternities • Provide guidelines for ethical practice.• Act as watch dog and disciplinary

bodies to recognize or derecognize.

• Social activist, NGOs and woman’s groups • There are of course a variety of NGOs and

woman’s groups (including self-help groups).

• Many roles can be played by them e.g. awareness raising, advocacy, acting as watch dog or pressure groups, providers of support services to women (e.g. counseling or shelter to women who are abused or fear abuse).

• They can form and stimulate the formation of powerful coalitions and networks.

• Journalists – can create or challenge public opinion through investigation and reportage.

• Manufacturers, marketers and R&D personnel – of sex determination technological tools and methods can play and encourage others to exercise socially responsible behavior with respect to PBEF.

Other civil society groups – can participate and enhance many of the above activities.

WHO CAN MAKE A CHANGE AND HOWWHO CAN MAKE A CHANGE AND HOW……

• Policy/Law Makers and Implementers/Enforcers, Parliamentarians, legislators. the judiciary, ministries/departments, bureaucrats, special appointees.

• They need to be made aware of what needs to be done and what they can do to end PBEF.

• they need to be alert and responsive on an ongoing basis to expert advice and evidence provided by various sources.

Group Four Group Four Social Activist Social Activist

• NGOs, women’s groups, journalists, local leaders, civil society groups can influence the other directly or indirectly.

• They need to understand the extent of the problem, they need to define and understand what role/s they can play; and they need to be mobilized to influence all other groups of stakeholders.

Group Three Group Three Service ProvidersService Providers

Trained and untrained service providers under various systems of medicine Who disclose fetal sex and recommend and conduct PBEF.

• They need to understand the implications of their actions and existing laws, possible penalties and how they can contribute to end the practice of PBEF.

Group Two Group Two Immediate MotivatorsImmediate Motivators

• The husband, family members, peers, religious leaders who encourage, threaten, pressurize the recipient.

• They need to understand the implications of their actions and existing laws.

• They need to be persuaded to change their beliefs and attitudes regarding the position and worth of women and girls.

Group One Group One Service RecipientService Recipient The woman who may undergo

procedures is the primary victim whose body and mind are abused .

• She needs information on risks and support.

• She needs to be empowered and develop self-esteem.

Changing People’s BehaviorChanging People’s Behavior• Generally speaking, changing

the behavior of individuals is a complex and challenging task.

• But ultimately all social change depends on the changed beliefs and behaviors of groups and individuals.

• Too often it is believed that a pamphlet here or a poster there or an expensively produced feature film developed by subject experts and creative persons will achieve behavior change objectives and consequently desired social change.

• Nothing could be further from the truth or more wasteful of limited resources.

• Another common belief is that using multiple communication channels is effective.

• This is true to a large extent but is potentially wasteful of resources if the selection of channels is not done strategically.

• It is only possible to accelerate behavior change through several means – improving awareness levels, initiating and sustaining attitudinal changes, providing an enabling environment and so on.

• The most effective way to change behavior is to first identify the desired response and then to design appropriate “stimuli” (or interventions) that are most likely to achieve that response.

Gender inequalities are costly for developmentGender inequalities are costly for development

• Societies that discriminate on the basis of gender pay a significant price- in more poverty, slower economic growth, weaker governance and in lower quality of life.

• Gender inequalities in basic rights, education, access to productive resources, participation in public life- all have detrimental impacts on development.

• Several Incentives and schemes like Janani suraksha yojana were introduced by the government of India to reduce Infant mortality rate (IMR) in India and to discourage the practice of female infanticide.

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• It is unfortunate that for one reason or the other, the practice of female infanticide still prevails despite the fact that gentle touch of a daughter and her voice has soothing effect on the parents.

• Female Infanticide is a barbaric insane act.

• We must stop it.

Last but not the leastLast but not the leastA Pledge…

Join Hands:-To end Pre-Birth Elimination of FemalesAll forms of Gender DiscriminationFor a world, which is not safe for

women, is not SAFE

MERA KYA KASOOR?MERA KYA KASOOR?

SAVE MESAVE ME