Descimination against female children in India

The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history. It remains a critical concern in a number of "Third World" countries today, notably the two most populous countries on earth, China and India. In all cases, specifically female infanticide reflects the low status accorded to women in most parts of the world; it is arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades "patriarchal" societies. It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, which targets female fetuses almost exclusively, and neglect of girl children.

India is a predominantly Hindu nation with large minorities of Sikhs and Muslims. There are more than 375 million children in India, the largest number for any country in the world. According to InfoChange, a non-profit that concentrates on sustainable development and social justice in Southeast Asia, about 36 percent of the population is living below the poverty line, with women and children accounting for 73 percent of those below the poverty line. Sociology-economic conditions as well as Hindu beliefs play a large part in the child rearing practices in India. 

Preference for Boys

The bias against females in India is related to the fact that "Sons are called upon to provide the income; they are the ones who do most of the work in the fields. In this way sons are looked to as a type of insurance. With this perspective, it becomes clearer that the high value given to males decreases the value given to females." (Marina Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) The problem is also intimately tied to the institution of dowry, in which the family of a prospective bride must pay enormous sums of money to the family in which the woman will live after marriage. Though formally outlawed, the institution is still pervasive. "The combination of dowry and wedding expenses usually add up to more than a million rupees ([US] $35,000). In India the average civil servant earns about 100,000 rupees ($3,500) a year. Given these figures combined with the low status of women, it seems not so illogical that the poorer Indian families would want only male children." (Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) Murders of women whose families are deemed to have paid insufficient dowry have become increasingly common, and receive separate case-study treatment on this site.

 

India is the heartland of sex-selective abortion. Amniocentesis was introduced in 1974 "to ascertain birth defects in a sample population," but "was quickly appropriated by medical entrepreneurs. A spate of sex-selective abortions followed." (Karlekar, "The girl child in India.") Karlekar points out that "those women who undergo sex determination tests and abort on knowing that the foetus is female are actively taking a decision against equality and the right to life for girls. In many cases, of course, the women are not independent agents but merely victims of a dominant family ideology based on preference for male children."

Dahlburg notes that "In Jaipur, capital of the western state of Rajasthan, prenatal sex determination tests result in an estimated 3,500 abortions of female fetuses annually," according to a medical-college study. (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.") Most strikingly, according to UNICEF, "A report from Bombay in 1984 on abortions after prenatal sex determination stated that 7,999 out of 8,000 of the aborted fetuses were females. Sex determination has become a lucrative business."

A female child is often seen as a financial drain on a family. In addition to paying for her living expenses, the girl's family must pay for her wedding and sometimes dowry, but after she is married all her future income goes to her new family. As a consequence, a boy is more likely to be well fed as well as receive schooling and health care. The deprivation of girls through insufficient breastfeeding and denial of food and health care leads to malnutrition and death. This maltreatment, along with infanticide and the aborting of female fetuses, has led to 10 million women "going missing" in India's population, according to a report by Palash Kumar for ABC News. The ratio of men to women in the population of India shows that there were 10 million women who were killed by their parent in the past 20 years.