Female Foeticide : Need To Change The Mindset Of People

The Atharvaveda says, “The birth of a daughter, grant it elsewhere, here grant a son”. This
saying in the holy scripture sums up the Indian attitude towards female children who are
subjected to multifarious travails inflicted by the society on them. The girl children in India have
been the most vulnerable for centuries and, are even today, vulnerable to the insults of
deprivation as well as discrimination. Whatever the natural biological laws of human
reproduction had given mankind for balancing its natural sex ratio, has been taken away by man
made laws, customs, traditions, religious beliefs and sophisticated medical technology, resulting
in a lower status in society for girls as well as women. For too long have they been left on the
back burner, facing discrimination throughout their entire journey from cradle to the grave. In
particular, peculiar to South Asia, and certainly to India, tradition, values and customs encrusted
over time have resulted in the insatiable desire for sons.

Among various women related issues in India, the female foeticide and female infanticide has
become one of the social problem. It is agonizing to know that the gender bias and deep-rooted
prejudice and discrimination against girl child, which have been there down the centuries, are
now found to begin in the womb itself. The girl child in the womb faces the peril of prebirth
elimination i.e. female foeticide. The latest advances in modern medical sciences - the tests like
amniocentesis and ultrasonography are being abused. The tests which were originally designed
for the detection of gender related congenital abnormality of the foetus are now being abused
particularly in India and Asian countries primarily to detect the sex of the foetus with the
intention of getting it aborted if it happens to be that of a female. Such foetus is considered to be
“suffering from the very disease of being a female foetus”. If the female foetus is lucky enough
to survive till her birth then she faced the peril of elimination in infancy by female infanticide
which is “Killing of an entirely dependent girl child under one year of age by mother, parents or
others in whose care she is entrusted”. Historically, female infanticide has been in existence
since long. Girl infants have been known to be killed by rubbing poison on the mother’s breast,
by feeding infants with milk of errukam flower or oleander berries, paddy grains, giving sleeping
tablets or by simply burying the girl infants alive. Law banned this heinous practice in 1870,
more than a century ago. Yet this abuse of girl child which is violation of her human right to life
continues to prevail in the society.

The social, cultural and religious fiber of India is pre-dominantly patriarchal contributing
extensively to the secondary status of women. The patrilineal social structure based on the
foundation that the family runs through a male and makes male a precious commodity that needs
to be protected and given special status. Another important pillar of the patriarchal structure is
marriage wherein women are given sub-ordinate status having no say in the running of their life
or any control over their body or bodily integrity. Marriage is also considered as a process where
by the burden of the father is passed on to the husband for a very high price. The dowry or
groom price is so staggeringly high irrespective of the class structure that generations may have
to toil to repay the debts incurred during marriage. All of this has contributed to a low status for
women in the society to such an extent that even the birth of a girl child in a family is sought to
be avoided. A deleterious fall out of the subjugated position of women is their vulnerability to
violence, rape, sexual abuse dowry harassment, domestic violence, trafficking etc with little or
no mechanisms of combating the same either by way of effective laws and implementation or
civil society action. Various methods were found to eliminate the girl child after her birth like
starving her, crushing her under bed or giving poison etc. Pertinently the responsibility for killing
the child was fixed on the mother/women as she was considered responsible for bringing the girl
child into existence. The causes for elimination of girl child indicate that the reasons are similar
and different depending upon the geographical location in which female infanticide is practiced.
An exorbitant dowry demand is one of the main reasons for female infanticide. Some of the other
reasons are the belief that it is only the son who can perform the last rites, lineage and
inheritance runs through the male line, sons will look after parents in old age, men are bread
winners etc. Strong male preference and the consequent elimination of the female has continued
to increase rather than decline with the spread of education.The recent technological
developments in medical practice combined with a vigorous pursuit of growth of the private
health sector have led to the mushrooming of a variety of sex-selective services. This has
happened not only in urban areas but deep within rural countryside also. Female infanticide in
most places has been replaced by female foeticide. Female foeticide or sex selective abortion is
the elimination of the female foetus in the womb itself. The sex of the foetus is determined by
methods like amniocentesis, chrion villus Biopsy and now by the most popular technique
ultrasonograghy. Once the sex of the foetus is determined, if it is a female foetus, it is aborted.
The increase in female foeticide has seen the proportionate decrease in female sex ratio which
has hit an all time low especially in the 0-6 age group and if this decline is not checked the very
delicate equilibrium of nature can be permanently destroyed.

Sex determination tests are seen as providing a ‘reproductive choice’ - a choice to decide to have
a boy or a girl. However women do not really enjoy an unfettered choice. Choice cannot exist in
the context where women are socialized to subordinate their interests to those of men; where
women attain a status only through marriage and by giving birth to children preferably sons;
where they largely bear the burden of cooking, bearing and rearing children,eat last and the least,
have lesser access to education and health services. Choice is only meaningful if it can be
exercised in the context of material, social and gender equity. The availability of sex detection
tests creates a situation where women are forced to undergo the test either by external pressure
from family members or by internalized social values.
The supporters of sex detection tests argue that on the basis of the theory of demand and supply,
an excess of males over females achieved with the reduction of unwanted, and hence, neglected
female children would actually raise the status of women. However if mere numbers were to
indicate status, then in several states in India, where adverse sex ratio exists, status of women
would be high. On the contrary, one observes that incidence of dowry deaths, rape and other
atrocities being committed in these states is as high as in other states. It has been observed that
societies with adverse female sex ratio have indicated the presence of customs like polyandry
and abduction and purchase of women. It is strongly felt, that contrary to raising the status of
women, adverse sex ratio would increase the incidence of rape, prostitution and violence against
women.

As India becomes a stable country and males do not get consumed to hateful acts by fellow
humans, the number of males have gone up. However, the practice of dowry remains stronger
than ever. The families that commit female foeticide love their living daughters, however that
passion is not extended to the female fetus. The progressive feminine movements tend to have
mixed feeling towards this inhuman cruelty as they are in favor or overall freedom of abortion.
Their voices get blunted as they have to support both sides of the coin. As females drop in
number in a society, society gets destabilized. Similar destabilization, violence and lack of
progress is observed in polygamous societies, where females are treated as properties and the
source of all violence is to "acquire and control" females.

In India the reason behind rise of female foeticide is because of the strong son preference in
society, universalisation of the small family norm, practices like tradition of giving dowry (gifts
by father of bride in cash or property to the groom), laws that govern property inheritance and
the cultural perception about the familial name through the male line. The mortality of girl child
is also high because of parental discrimination against their daughters in terms of health care and
nutrition.

These unscrupulous murders of female or girls is justified on two grounds. First, it reduces the
population and second is that the poor parents will be saved from the expenses which they would
have to incur in the marriage of their daughter if she had born. So the murder of a female foetus
is considered to be a solution to two major problems i.e. population problem and dowry. But how
far are these grounds justified. India was the first country to adopt family planning as an official
programme to reduce the birthrate. But population of the country is still growing. One of the
reasons for the growth of population in India is the desire for a son. Today the sex-determination
tests have provided an easy way out to know whether or not a woman will get a son. Each time a
woman gets pregnant she can have the sex of the foetus determined and get it aborted if it
happens to be a female child. Abortion was punishable under Indian Penal Code but it was
legalized with the passing of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.This act along with
its revised rules was envisaged as a mile stone in the modernization of Indian society through
laws. Doctors are against the ban on amniocentesis because it will lead to an underground
practice in the field.

None of these arguments given in favour of the continuance of sex determination tests holds
good. It is true that people should have every right to plan their families. If a man has a daughter
and he wants son let him have it. But difficulty lies if he wants son only. How far it is correct to
permit him to do so. The sex determination test is used to destroy the female foetus than to
control the number of children or to have a child of the sex of one’s choice. In India the choice is
always male child and it is the female only that is unwanted child. Though it is the individual
interest that is paramount but he has a duty towards the society also as a member of the society.
The argument that banning the test would lead to underground practice does not mean that no
law should be passed to check it. And the argument that it is a symbol of female emancipation is
a nullity. Because how far is it just to be too liberal to one generation of women that they have
right even to have the children of their own choice and too cruel to the other generation to which
the very right to take birth and come into existence be denied. If female foeticide is continued the
way it is continuing, it will render all the women and child health programmes a nullity.

Here are some ideas to prevent female infanticide and female foeticide.

-Males should stand up to their own moms and dads when they start chirping about unwanted
female children.
-Create a feminine movement so that women feel a sisterhood towards each other and stand
up for a woman in a neighboring house rather than turn a blind eye.
-Refuse marriage of women into households or be very careful of families that have only
male children or a very high percentage of males. Chances are high that they did you know
what. Again, a few innocents will be in needless trouble, but sometimes poisonous and
normal snakes look alike and it is better to get out a stick and protect your own daughters and
sisters.
- Provide extra incentives for families that have more than one girl child. This will help
correct the gender balance in a few years.
-If you have a female child, educate her and provide her the same opportunities as a male
child. This is the one thing that makes female killing folks look foolish and dumb.

Hence ,It can be concluded that “Yatra Naranthya Pujyathe Raman The Tatra Devatha” has
been our culture as in our country a girl is worshiped as a Devi on one hand and denied her
existence on the other as if she has no right to live. Time has perhaps come for us to get rid of
male domination and treat children as gifts of nature regardless of their gender. We cannot
imagine a society in the future where there will be only males and no females. The society will
be full of crimes and evils. Only if legislations enacted in this behalf are not sufficient. Orthodox
views regarding women need to be changed. The pernicious acts of female foeticide and coercive
abortions have to end before women becomes endangered species.