Just another news story
Something caught my eye in the newspaper this week.
It was a Times of India article (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1206174.cms) about abortion clinics in Varanasi. Sinister-sounding 'agents' are now offering to organise ultrasound tests for as little as Rs 400, with the purpose of identifying the gender of the unborn child. If it's a girl, an abortion can be hastily arranged for just Rs 200. There's an economic rationale behind this, of course. Dowries are an expense, hence families can save money by opting to abort their unborn daughters. As one would-be father quoted in the article says, "The expense of an ultrasound and an abortion will save us Rs 5,000 in dowry. And that's just before the wedding. Add the money spent on festivals like Teej or when a grandchild is born and you'll understand that poor people like us can't afford daughters."
I'm not going to enter the debate about the right to choose or the right to life: that's a separate issue. One thing is certain however, the increasing phenomenon of skewed boy-girl sex ratios in India, previously largely limited to middle-class communities, is expanding worryingly throughout the country. In Maharashtra State for example, the child sex ratio for the 0-6 age group in 2001 was 917:1000, reflecting the situation with regard to female foeticide and the neglect of the girl child. (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1913/19130810.htm) Disturbingly, in parts of Delhi, the girl-boy ratio is as low as 780:1000. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1189477.cms)
Naturally, there's a law against this kind of gender selection - the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act 1994. However, this is proving difficult to enforce. After all, everyone has the right to an ultrasound if they want one (and can pay for it). If the physician in charge verbally lets slip the gender of the child, what crime has been committed at that stage?
Clearly, it's societal attitudes that will have to tackle the situation. Until girls are valued as much as boys this will continue to be a problem, especially now that the technology to determine the sex of an unborn child is so widely and cheaply available.
From the point of view of Pune's slums, there is some hope at least. Interestingly, boy-girl sex ratios tend to be far worse in middle class communities than in the slums. I'm glad that Deep Griha Society places so much emphasis on women and children and promotes positive messages about their worth. I don't know about you, but I find the fact that gender-based foeticide can be facilitated for under $10 profoundly depressing.
It was a Times of India article (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1206174.cms) about abortion clinics in Varanasi. Sinister-sounding 'agents' are now offering to organise ultrasound tests for as little as Rs 400, with the purpose of identifying the gender of the unborn child. If it's a girl, an abortion can be hastily arranged for just Rs 200. There's an economic rationale behind this, of course. Dowries are an expense, hence families can save money by opting to abort their unborn daughters. As one would-be father quoted in the article says, "The expense of an ultrasound and an abortion will save us Rs 5,000 in dowry. And that's just before the wedding. Add the money spent on festivals like Teej or when a grandchild is born and you'll understand that poor people like us can't afford daughters."
I'm not going to enter the debate about the right to choose or the right to life: that's a separate issue. One thing is certain however, the increasing phenomenon of skewed boy-girl sex ratios in India, previously largely limited to middle-class communities, is expanding worryingly throughout the country. In Maharashtra State for example, the child sex ratio for the 0-6 age group in 2001 was 917:1000, reflecting the situation with regard to female foeticide and the neglect of the girl child. (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1913/19130810.htm) Disturbingly, in parts of Delhi, the girl-boy ratio is as low as 780:1000. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1189477.cms)
Naturally, there's a law against this kind of gender selection - the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act 1994. However, this is proving difficult to enforce. After all, everyone has the right to an ultrasound if they want one (and can pay for it). If the physician in charge verbally lets slip the gender of the child, what crime has been committed at that stage?
Clearly, it's societal attitudes that will have to tackle the situation. Until girls are valued as much as boys this will continue to be a problem, especially now that the technology to determine the sex of an unborn child is so widely and cheaply available.
From the point of view of Pune's slums, there is some hope at least. Interestingly, boy-girl sex ratios tend to be far worse in middle class communities than in the slums. I'm glad that Deep Griha Society places so much emphasis on women and children and promotes positive messages about their worth. I don't know about you, but I find the fact that gender-based foeticide can be facilitated for under $10 profoundly depressing.
posted by Paul Heron at 4:46 am
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