India, a world without women

India is fascinated by the concept of the male child. 60 millionsof women are missing in India. These "missing women" are victimsof infanticide, foeticide, selective abortion, abandon at birth orafter, since many years.

a Photo story by Fabrice Dimier/Libre arbitre/LightMediation

2805-06: A family has had their two sons' heads painted with the Indian symbol of chance

Contact - Thierry Tinacci - LightMediation Photo Agency - email: thierry@lightmediation.com - mobile: +33.6.61.80.57.21

2805-01: Little girl. 2805-02: Women, Varanasi

2805-03: Little girl 2805-04: Male child, king boy. A male child is also a guaranty of family lineage and an important elementof family prestige. Under Indian spirituals traditions, only can sons help their parents' souls to survive after

2805-05: Atara. Uttar Pradesh state. Male child, king boy. A male child is also a guaranty of family lineageand an important element of family prestige. Under Indian spirituals traditions, only can sons help their

2805-06: A family has had their two sons' heads painted with the Indian symbol of chance

2805-07: Maternity Ward, Punjab. The birth of a male child 2805-08: A little girl receives a traditional anklet a few days after birth

2805-33: At the end of the wedding ceremony, the girl goes to live with her new family in law. Leaving her family is extremely painful. The wife is now at the mercy of her new family in law and their demands.

2805-09: A funeral pyre. The son, through whom heritage is passed down, must take care of his parentsuntil their death. It is he who releases their souls from their body, following the Hindu ritual, with a final

2805-10: A funeral pyre. The son, through whom heritage is passed down, must take care of his parentsuntil their death. It is he who releases their souls from their body, following the Hindu ritual, with a final

2805-11: Infanticide still exists in more remote villages of Tamil Nadu. Headquarters of the Ponthaleerassociation. Situated in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, a rescue team of social workers increases the families'

2805-12: Infanticide still exists in more remote villages of Tamil Nadu. Headquarters of the Ponthaleerassociation. Situated in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, a rescue team of social workers increases the families

2805-13: The headquarters of the Ponthaleer association in Tamil Nadu. A social worker is looking at thefile of a female child victim of infanticide.

2805-14: Ponthaleer social workers intervene in a village in the Tamil Nadu region. Infanticide is rife in thisarea and the rescue team has come to meet pregnant women. Their first aim is to evaluate the risk of

2805-15: Tamil Nadu. Arsumari has just given birth to twins sisters. There are already two other little girlsin the family. Because of this they are considered a high-risk family in an area were infanticide is rife

2805-16: Kartinayucumputh, Tamil Nadu. Kala and Kalpana (9 years old) twin sisters were saved from apossible infanticide thanks to the Ponthaleer association.

2805-40: "He left jail one year ago; he has paid for his crime... But me, how much longer will I have to pay? I have to put that on my head when Im going outside", Shanti points sadly to a Burqa, 11 surgical operationslater.

2805-17: Chinnupupp Dmusi and her two sisters saved from infanticide by the help of Ponthaleerorganization. Two of her girls where killed before.

2805-18: 6 months ago, Chinanapapa's husband poisoned their newborn baby girl during the night withtobacco juice, believing his family to be too poor to take care of her. Chinanapapa found her little girl dead

2805-19: Agelawdem painfully remembers her daughter's disappearance. She was coldly poisoned duringher absence by her mother in law. Her husband, who was a party to the act, defends himself by blaming

2805-20: The Mother Theresa Orphanage, Missionaries of Charity, Chandigarh.On the ten babies, 8 aregirls. Ponthaleer organization says that 90 percent of abandoned children are girls in the country.

2805-21: The Mother Theresa Orphanage, Missionaries of Charity, Chandigarh. The decor and toys are allfeminine.

2805-22: The Mother Theresa Orphanage, Missionaries of Charity, Chandigarh. In front of the orphanage,a cradle is placed to facilitate anonymous abandon and avoid infanticide. This initiative is a part of a

2805-23: Terre Des Hommes adoption center in the Salem region of Tamil Nau. Madhubala was savedfrom infanticide by the Ponthaleer association, only to be abandoned by her parents here.

2805-24: Ultrasound examination in a private center in Haryana. There are now Private clinics even inremote villages. Since 1994, a law penalizes doctors who reveal the gender of a child to mothers during

2805-24: Ultrasound examination in a private center in Haryana. There are now Private clinics even in remote villages. Since 1994, a law penalizes doctors who reveal the gender of a child to mothers during ultrasoundexaminations. However, the law is hard to uphold and is facing huge resistance from doctors. According to FNUAP, 700 000 foetus are aborpted by year in India.

2805-25: Prevention campaign, organized by the voluntary Health Association of Punjab, to fight againstfemale infanticide in India. "Remember that gender selection is illegal" reads the poster.

2805-26: Female activists campaign outside a private gynecology clinic to protest against the selectiveabortion practiced by some doctors.

2805-27: Shyam Sunder, an activist against gender selection, asks schoolgirls to swear not to abort inorder to have a baby boy. This activist goes from weddings to village centres with his urn and asks

2805-28: Manta, an activist against foeticide, improvises a play in the centre of Haryana village, The storytells of the suffering of a little girl who should exist but who was never born because of an abortion.

2805-29: Wedding, Punjab. Traditional arranged weddings is a big financial risk for families in India. Thebride's family must pay for an expensive tradition: The dowry. Seen as "the one who leaves", a wife goes

2805-30: A wedding ceremony. Rai and Amandeep met just once before the celebration. The marriagewas arranged by their parents, as is traditional in India.

2805-31: Photo cession during a wedding ceremony 2805-32: During a wedding, the wife's family offers the keys of a car given to the husband's family. Thiscar is a part of a dowry, fixed at 25 000 Euros for this marriage. Despite the dowry ban, it is still the norm

2805-33: At the end of the wedding ceremony, the girl goes to live with her new family in law. Leaving herfamily is extremely painful. The wife is now at the mercy of her new family in law and their demands.

2805-34: Each year, the dowry tradition claims thousands of victims. The overwhelming cost involvedleads many families to infanticide. To have a girl, is like watering your neighbour's field for him, explains

2805-35: Veiled women in Atara, Uttar Pradesh 2805-36: Arthi has found a safe haven in the Vimochana emergency centre. A victim of dowry harassmentshe managed to have her husband sent to jail, but she cannot return to her parents home.

2805-37: Bangalore. Jabuid, 18 years old, tries to find some help at the NGO Vimochana's headquarters.Her husband beats her, asking a dowry that her parents can not afford. She wants to lodge a complaint

2805-38: Arthi has found a safe haven in the Vimochana emergency centre.

2805-39: Shanti holds a portrait of her taken 10 years earlier. A few years after their wedding, herhusband threw sulphuric acid on her face after not receiving the dowry money he and his family had

2805-52: During a wedding, women swear to not abort in order to avoid giving birth to a female child bypouring sacred water from the Ganga river.

2805-20: The Mother Theresa Orphanage, Missionaries of Charity, Chandigarh.On the ten babies, 8 are girls. Ponthaleer organization says that 90 percent of abandoned children are girls in the country.

2805-41: Sampat Pal, the leader of the Pink Sari gang, interferes to solve a neighbourhood conflict. Thegang is fighting against injustice against women, armed with sticks if needed.

2805-42: Gangs are formed to fight violence against women. The women of the Pink Sari gang learn howto defend themselves. The gang travels around sorting out problems that an Indian woman would find

2805-43: Gangs are formed to fight violence against women. The women of the Pink Sari gang learn howto defend themselves. The gang travels around sorting out problems that an Indian woman would find

2805-44: Gangs are formed to fight violence against women. The women of the Pink Sari gang learn howto defend themselves. The gang travels around sorting out problems that an Indian woman would find

2805-45: In rich areas of the North India, ratios of birth are catastrophics. in Punjab there are 730 girldchild for every 1000 boys. In remote villages, men have difficulties to find wives.

2805-46: In rich areas of the North India, ratios of birth are catastrophics. in Punjab there are 730 girldchild for every 1000 boys. In remote villages, men have difficulties to find wives.

2805-47: Lawinder, Manmeet and Jagjit, 25, 23, and 27 years old, and their uncle Gunmeet, arebachelors. In this area, 20 % of men may be bachelors their whole life long.

2805-48: The Kaur family, Deer Meer Meeran village, a rare family with 3 girls. "We are too poor",explains Gurmeet, the mother, otherwise we would have done as others have : Ultrasounds

2805-11: Infanticide still exists in more remote villages of Tamil Nadu. Headquarters of the Ponthaleer association. Situated in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, a rescue team of social workers increases the families'awareness before and just after the birth of a baby. A photo of children saved by the care of the organisation is displayed on the wall above a social worker. 1170 babies have been saved and 410 families are supported

by the organization.

2805-49: A group of boys wearing the traditional Sikh rimaal in their hair, Deer meer meeran village,Fategarh Sahib district. The Pundjab and Haryana districts have the most frightening sex ratios of the

2805-50: A traveling peddler picking up empty bottles of alcohol. Barwali Kalan village. Some villages arealready seeing the problems caused by a lack of women, such as alcoholism, heightened violence and

2805-53: A girl in the sacred water of the Ganga river 2805-54: Girl child

2805-23: Terre Des Hommes adoption center in the Salem region of Tamil Nau. Madhubala was saved from infanticide by the Ponthaleer association, only to be abandoned by her parents here

2805-43: Gangs are formed to fight violence against women. The women of the Pink Sari gang learn how to defend themselves. The gang travels around sorting out problems that an Indian woman would find difficult ifnot impossible to solve alone.

2805-51: A playground in the Fategarh Sahib district school. This area has the most worryingly uneven sex ratio of the country.

Synopsis :India, a worldwithout women

The world has been deprived of 163million women*. These "missing women",victims of infanticide, foeticide, selectiveabortion, abandon at birth or after,disappear mainly from India, Pakistan,Bangladesh and China. India is fascinatedby the concept of the male child. The son,through whom heritage is passed down,must take care of his parents until theirdeath. Seen as "the one who leaves", awife goes to live as part of her husband'sfamily after the wedding in exchange for adowry. Women are therefore subjected toheavy social pressure to give birth to malechildren, or risk being beaten or rejectedby their husbands and family in law, and insome cases even killed. In some cities,"foeticide" has become organized andgeneralized, thanks to pregnancy teststhat determine the baby's gender, and thehelp of unscrupulous doctors. Thedisparity of male to female sex ratios is sohigh that in March 2008 the Indiangovernment announced a program named"Goddess of Prosperity" which offers 5000dollars (spread over 18 years) to eachfamily that gives birth to a girl. Since 1994,doctors are not allowed to reveal thefetus's gender. Despite this ban, selectiveabortion is still widespread and only onedoctor has been found guilty in the last 14years. Sales of pre natal gender diagnosticmaterial, manufactured by the Americancompany General Electric, have increasedfrom 30 million dollars in 1995, to 210million dollars in 2006

In 2020, the number of unmarried menwithout children is predicted to reachbetween 28 and 32 million in India*.

* Extract from the book "Quand lesfemmes auront disparu. L'élimination desfilles en Inde et en Asie", BénédicteManier. Ed. La Découverte, Paris, 2008.

French texte:Inde : Unmonde sansfemmes

District de Salem, Tamil Nadu. Arsumariregarde tendrement ses filles étenduessur le charpoy*. « Elles n'ont pas encorede prénoms. Il faudra consulterl'astrologue » confie t-elle à Suda.L'assistante sociale, attendrie, cajole lesjumelles d'un revers de main. 2kg et 2,2kg. La voilà rassurée, les fillettes semblentnormalement alimentées, il n'y a pas designe de négligence visible. Sur lestablettes de l'association Ponthaleer, lafamille, comptant déjà deux filles, estclassée « à risque ». Comprenez risquantde mettre fin (par sous alimentation parexemple) à la vie d'un nouveau-né, sicelui-ci venait à être de sexe féminin.Suda et ses collègues suivent doncArsumari depuis sa grossesse. Elles luirendront visite quotidiennement jusqu'audeux mois des enfants. Pour la soutenir,aujourd'hui la rescue team apporte un peude lait. Suivant les besoins des famillessuivies par Ponthaleer, les aides peuventtout aussi bien être médicales, financières,ou encore matérielles. « L'essentiel est dedonner un peu plus de pouvoir etd'indépendance aux femmes », expliqueSouda. De fait, l'infanticide, même passif,est une décision de l'homme, et résultesouvent de la pression exercée par le mariou sa famille sur la mère.

Dans le village voisin, Agelawdem, sesouvient avec douleur de la disparition de

sa petite fille. Un empoisonnementfroidement commandité en son absencepar sa belle mère. Son mari, complice, sedéfend alors, justifiant des mauvaisprésages de l'astrologue vis à vis del'enfant. Dans une Inde écartelée entremodernité et archaïsme, cette barbarieapparente est l'ultime acte de cruautéenvers les femmes : Leur refuser le droitde naître. Si traditions et croyances semêlent fréquemment pour justifierl'injustifiable, la raison première est simple: Avoir une fille coûte cher. « C'est commearroser le jardin du voisin », dit l'adageindien ... La dot, pourtant interdite, estl'apanage de toutes les unions, pauvresou riches. « Le mariage,systématiquement arrangé en Inde, estdevenu une transaction financière, unéchange à risque », explique DonnaFernandes, directrice de l'ONG dedéfense Vimochana à Bangalore. Car si ladot ruine bien souvent la famille de lamariée, elle met également en danger lavie de cette dernière.

Les histoires comme celle que conte Arthi,réfugiée au foyer d'aide d'urgence deVimochana sont innombrables. Mariée à17 ans, sa famille est contrainted'accepter de verser une première dot aumoment du mariage. Mais trois ans plustard, la famille du mari, menaçante, exigeà nouveau 30 000 roupies. Arthi, battue etcraignant pour son intégrité physique,porte plainte pour harcèlement. Son mariest envoyé en prison. Aujourd'huitoutefois, ses parents, voisins de la familledu mari, craignent de nouveauxproblèmes et ne peuvent l'accueillir.

Dans ces situations aussi tragiques quecourantes, toutes n'ont pas la chance detrouver un lieu pour se réfugier et éviter lepire. Dans la même situation Shanti,subissant de la part de son mari un

harcèlement sans fin depuis 8 ans, a payéde sa personne. Mettant ses menaces aexécution, après une énième demande dedot, son mari lui lance de l'acide auvisage, condamnant ainsi la jeune femmeà une vie de proscrite. « Il est sorti deprison depuis un an, il a payé... Mais moicombien de temps vais je encore payer ?Je suis obligée de sortir en me cachant,avec cela sur la tête », regrette Shanti,onze interventions chirurgicales plus tard,en désignant une Burka**. Dans un hôpitalde province, désireuse de rester anonymeune infirmière raconte l'affluence soudaineaprès la saison des mariages, de femmesbrûlées, victimes « d'accidents de cuisines». Les meurtres pour cause de dot font8000 morts par ans et une aile de laprison de Delhi est remplie de bellemères, accusées d' harcèlement sur leursbelles filles. La sécurité des filles est doncloin d'être assurée en Inde, et lapréférence pour les garçons prend sasource dans ce contexte de violencedomestique.

Les conséquences de cette sélection desgenres sont déjà visibles : Prostitution,trafic de femmes, montée de la violence...Dans l'Haryana et le Penjab, les ratios denaissance sont catastrophiquementdéséquilibrés. Dans ces communes deriches propriétaires terriens du nord del'Inde, l'infanticide a été supplanté parl'avortement sélectif. Dès l'arrivée destechniques d'échographie au début desannées 90, les cliniques ont fleurit dans larégion. Depuis 1994, la loi interdit pourtantd'utiliser l'échographie pour révéler le sexede l'enfant. « De nombreux médecins peuscrupuleux détournent cette règle sansêtre inquiétés», regrette Puneet Bedi,obstétricien à Delhi. « Ce buisness en colblanc est souterrain, difficilementdécelable. Les techniques modernes ontlargement facilité l'acte, et la classe

moyenne est celle qui pratique le plus cesinterventions", dénonce ce militant.

Tout le monde sait, et tait. A Deer MeerMeeran, seuls les chiffres recueillis parl'association VHAP parlent. Le ratio denaissance du village est de 535 filles pour1000. Seule, cette famille étonnemmentconstituée de trois filles aborde librementdu sujet. « Nous sommes trop pauvres,sinon nous aurions agit comme les autres: échographie et avortements », expliquela maman. Buisness rentable du côtémédical, question de survie financière ducôté des familles, dans ce contexte, seulun la changement de mentalité pourraitmettre fin à cette dérive eugéniste.

A Bhiwani, Shyam Sunder a sa méthode, toute personnelle, afin de réveiller lesconsciences : Faire jurer femmes et fillesen public, à l'occasion de mariage parexemple, qu'elles n'avorteront pas. Ouencore fêter la naissance d'une fillecomme est fêtée celle d'un garçon, afin delutter contre le sentiment de déshonneurd'enfanter une fille. Cet engagement il aréussi à le transmettre à ... sa fille. Sur lapetite place d'un village, Manta interprèteune pièce de théâtre, à la volée. Celle-ciconte le malheur d'une fille qui aurait duexister, mais n'a jamais vu le jour pourcause d'avortement. Une petite voix quireprésente déjà plus de 60 millionsd'indiennes manquantes, et la rumeur necesse de grossir.

Fabrice Dimier

* Lit de cordes tressées* Voile qui couvre la tête, percé d'unefente grillagée pour les yeuxEn chiffres :- D'après le Les orphelinats sont remplis

et sans enfants atteindra 28 à 32 millions en Inde en 2020.Selon les Nations-Unies, 2 000 foetus féminins seraient illégalementavortés chaque jour en Inde Le gouvernement indien verse 5 000 dollars (étalé sur 18 ans) aux mèresqui donnent naissance à une fille, pour limiter le nombre d'infanticides etd'avortements sélectifs. - En Asie, il manque 163 millions de femmes

Bibliographie :- Quand les femmes auront disparu, Bénédicte Manier. Edition Ladécouverte- May you be the mother of a hundred sons, Elisabeth Bumiller

Captions

2805-04: Male child, king boy. A malechild is also a guaranty of family lineageand an important element of familyprestige. Under Indian spirituals traditions,only can sons help their parents' souls tosurvive after death. The son plays acentral role in the father's cremation andmust light the funeral pyre or the father'ssoul will not be reincarnated.

2805-05: Atara. Uttar Pradesh state. Malechild, king boy. A male child is also aguaranty of family lineage and animportant element of family prestige.Under Indian spirituals traditions, only cansons help their parents' souls to surviveafter death. The son plays a central role inthe father's cremation and must light thefuneral pyre or the father's soul will not bereincarnated.

2805-09: A funeral pyre. The son, throughwhom heritage is passed down, must takecare of his parents until their death. It is hewho releases their souls from their body,following the Hindu ritual, with a finalprayer in front of the funeral pyre.

2805-10: A funeral pyre. The son, throughwhom heritage is passed down, must takecare of his parents until their death. It is hewho releases their souls from their body,following the Hindu ritual, with a finalprayer in front of the funeral pyre.

2805-11: Infanticide still exists in moreremote villages of Tamil Nadu.Headquarters of the Ponthaleerassociation. Situated in a rural area ofTamil Nadu, a rescue team of socialworkers increases the families' awarenessbefore and just after the birth of a baby. A

photo of children saved by the care of theorganisation is displayed on the wallabove a social worker. 1170 babies havebeen saved and 410 families aresupported by the organization

2805-12: Infanticide still exists in moreremote villages of Tamil Nadu.Headquarters of the Ponthaleerassociation. Situated in a rural area ofTamil Nadu, a rescue team of socialworkers increases the families awarenessbefore and just after the birth of a baby. Aphoto of children saved by the care of theorganisation is displayed on the wallabove a social worker. 1170 babies havebeen saved and 410 families aresupported by the organization.

2805-14: Ponthaleer social workersintervene in a village in the Tamil Naduregion. Infanticide is rife in this area andthe rescue team has come to meetpregnant women. Their first aim is toevaluate the risk of infanticide, and then tohelp the family financially or materially(with money, animals, or a child's schoolfees) in order to prevent the likelihood of achild being killed.

2805-18: 6 months ago, Chinanapapa'shusband poisoned their newborn baby girlduring the night with tobacco juice,believing his family to be too poor to takecare of her. Chinanapapa found her littlegirl dead by her side when she woke.Traumatized, she hardly eats anymoreand wanders the village at night mumblingto herself.

2805-19: Agelawdem painfully remembersher daughter's disappearance. She wascoldly poisoned during her absence by hermother in law. Her husband, who was aparty to the act, defends himself byblaming bad omens involving the baby.

2805-22: The Mother Theresa Orphanage,Missionaries of Charity, Chandigarh. Infront of the orphanage, a cradle is placedto facilitate anonymous abandon andavoid infanticide. This initiative is a part ofa national plan to fight infanticide.

2805-23: Terre Des Hommes adoptioncenter in the Salem region of Tamil Nau.Madhubala was saved from infanticide bythe Ponthaleer association, only to beabandoned by her parents here.

2805-24: Ultrasound examination in aprivate center in Haryana. There are nowPrivate clinics even in remote villages.Since 1994, a law penalizes doctors whoreveal the gender of a child to mothersduring ultrasound examinations. However,the law is hard to uphold and is facinghuge resistance from doctors. Accordingto FNUAP, 700 000 foetus are aborptedby year in India.

2805-27: Shyam Sunder, an activistagainst gender selection, asks schoolgirlsto swear not to abort in order to have ababy boy. This activist goes fromweddings to village centres with his urnand asks women, married girls, mothers,and mothers in law to swear that they willnot abort in the name of male preference.

2805-29: Wedding, Punjab. Traditionalarranged weddings is a big financial riskfor families in India. The bride's familymust pay for an expensive tradition: Thedowry. Seen as "the one who leaves", awife goes to live as part of her husband'sfamily after the wedding in exchange for adowry. Despite dowries being banned in1961, this is still the norm for all socialclasses.

2805-32: During a wedding, the wife's

family offers the keys of a car given to thehusband's family. This car is a part of adowry, fixed at 25 000 Euros for thismarriage. Despite the dowry ban, it is stillthe norm for all social classes and causesmany problems.

2805-33: At the end of the weddingceremony, the girl goes to live with hernew family in law. Leaving her family isextremely painful. The wife is now at themercy of her new family in law and theirdemands.

2805-34: Each year, the dowry traditionclaims thousands of victims. Theoverwhelming cost involved leads manyfamilies to infanticide. To have a girl, islike watering your neighbour's field forhim, explains an Indian saying. But genderpreference at birth is also responsable ofthe dowry. Indian women are also indanger of what is known as dowry death.The dowry used to be a transaction only atthe moment of the wedding. Butnowadays the groom and his family oftenask for more money after the wedding untilthe bride family have no more money.Physical threaten on the bride arefollowing and ends up sometimescommiting suicide or being murdered.According to INCRB (Indian NationalCrime Record Bureau) there are 7600dowry death by murdering each year inIndia.

2805-37: Bangalore. Jabuid, 18 years old,tries to find some help at the NGOVimochana's headquarters. Her husbandbeats her, asking a dowry that her parentscan not afford. She wants to lodge acomplaint against him, but she's afraid ofdoing it. Here she wows the proffs of herwedding act to the social worker of theNGO.