CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMALE FOETICIDE by Riya Nagpal

Posted on: November 1, 2020 Posted by: admin Comments: 0

Author : Riya Nagpal, Student at University Institute of legal studies, Panjab University

There can be no spirituality, no sanctity, and no truth without the Female Child.^[1]

INTRODUCTION

It is strange that many people are not happy when girls are born in their families. Even mothers forget that they were “girls” too once upon a time. Why is that girls, who can be Kalpana Chawlas or Medha Patkars and Arundhati Roys, are not allowed to be born or are killed soon after their birth? What a shame where women are considered to be worthy of worship! Why?

Even in this 21st century India, the birth of a girl child is an unwelcome event in many households. The root cause of this narrow minded thinking is wrong notions prevailing in parents that when they grow old, their sons will support them physically and financially whereas a daughter will get married and go to her husband’s house and won’t be available at the time of their need. It is also an assumption that daughters means monetary loss whereas sons means monetary gain. The evil practices of dowry, sexual harassment, violence against women which could not be scrapped – out from our society, even after promulgation of so many laws, further strengthen such notions.

MEANING

Foeticide means destruction of a foetus in the womb of the mother itself. Female Foeticide in India is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal methods.^[2] There is an ultrasound era available the uses of which inercourse of the kid may be decided at the time as the fetus is inside the womb and parents who don’t want a girl child go through this test and then kill the infant in the womb earlier than it is born. This heinous exercise continues even today within the southern components of India.

Nearly 4.6 crore (45.8 million) females are ‘missing’ in Indian demography in the year 2020, mainly due to pre and post-birth sex selection practices stemming from son preference and gender inequality, a recently released United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report has said.^[3]

South Asian International locations like India, Pakistan , China and Tibet are the distinguished recorders of high female foeticide incidents. Also, UNICEF estimates that the turnover of the foeticide has now reached two hundred forty four millions bucks from seventy seven million bucks in 2006.

Female Foeticide has become a main hassle in India. It is ironic that where on one hand women are considered to be worthy of worship , are killed so mercilessly. In our scriptures , it is written that यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता this line means – Where ladies are worshipped, gods stay there.^[4]

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR FEMALE FOETICIDE

SOCIO-RITUAL FACTOR – Well the reasons are baffling! A family’s honour is associated with women! Many people believe, if something happens to them, the family honour is blemished. Women are more prone to violence- falling victims to evils like exploitation, dowry death and rape. They are not given their rightful share in the family property because they are to be given away in the marriage. Our society prefers male children, for the family line runs through males and a male child performs all rituals including all the rites of the dead. This is totally unjust, unfair and inhuman.

The root cause of female foeticide is the dowry system in our society. A number of girls are killed inside the womb due to fear of dowry by many poor class families. They are worried about giving the dowry during the marriage of their girls, which poor people can’t afford.^[5]

ECONOMIC FACTORS/ FINANCIAL FACTORS – Many parents prefer to have abortion due to the financial elements concerned. They accept as true that elevating a female child now not be economically viable as they may need to marry her off, and all the expenditure on her training and different matters won’t do any desirable to them.

IMPACT OF FEMALE FOETICIDE

Unbalanced Sex Ratio: Female foeticide has lead to the unbalanced sex ratio throughout the nations. Be it India, China, Pakistan or Tibet, all of them are going through the serious problem of imbalance male-female ratio.

Health Issues: Female foeticide also has a totally bad impact on mother’s health physically as well as mentally. The mother not only suffers from health issues but also it is too harmful on the emotional and psychological stage.

INITIATIVES BY GOVERNMENT

In India, The Indian government has passed Pre- conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT)^[6] in 1994 to ban and punish prenatal sex screening and female foeticide. It is enacted to stop female foeticide and arrest the declining sex ratio in India. It is currently illegal in India to determine or disclose sex of the foetus to anyone.^[7]

The government of India has currently released the ‘ BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO’ motion a good way to promote female schooling and demote the practice of female foeticide and infanticide. It’s motive is to prevent gender biasness and to ensure the education of girl children^[8].

Nepal , in 2002, amended the Country Code , Muluki Ain to permit abortion on medical grounds and prohibit intercourse- selective abortions^[9].

The Population Ordinance ( 2006) and Prime Minister Decree (2006) of Vietnam prohibits all practices of antenatal feta sex prognosis and sex choice^[10].

CONCLUSION

Fortunately things are changing. Women are scripting new roles. They are doctors, engineers, scientists, police and defence officers, astronauts and what not. You name it, they are achieving new heights in every walk of their life. The need of the hour is to educate girls, to make them all self- dependent economically. And more importantly to change our age old sick mindsets. If we want our society to survive, we must let girls be born and bloom.

Hence from all these phenomenons prevailing around us, it can be concluded that India is still a patriarchal society. Therefore, a focused effort from all the stakeholders of our society is a need of this hour. It is necessary that parents must treat their children, whether boy or girl, equally and should show their children a righteous direction to lead their lives. Children from a young age, especially girls must be trained in self defence techniques and the government must introduce and implement harsher laws for gender discrimination and crime against women, for instilling fear in people’s mind before even thinking of committing such crimes.