We live in 21st century which is an era of a modern and advanced society. There are some dark truths that run deep in our roots, Female infanticide being one of them. While some of us are aware about it, many others deny to acknowledge this truth. Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females. It is the dowry system, lack of financial independence, social customs and beliefs that have downgraded the females to a secondary status comes discrimination, domestic violence and girl infanticide. There are still several cases reported every year of girl infanticide in our country. It is a fact that even though we are in a global society, the major part of our country’s population lives in rural area. In the rural areas, most women give birth in their homes only and because of this we still don’t have the accurate data of girl infanticide.
Sex Ratio indicates the proportion of males to females in a certain population, whereas, in India, the sex ratio is calculated as the number of females per 1000 males. A girl child is considered to be a liability by early societies, and even today, also many people have the same mindset regarding female children. Many parents consider it better to invest in a son than in a daughter. Female infanticide causes an imbalance in the society among the number of males and females. The Socio-Cultural perspective relates to gender differences on a household level, whereas the demographic perspective focuses more on gender differences in the desired family composition. According to a report by the Indian government in 2018, around 63 million women are missing in India. With a decline in sex ratio, the number is going to increase more in the near future. Thus, Indian sex ratio can be characterized as adverse and a declining one, which favors male more than female. There is an immediate requirement for strict regulations to keep a check on such traditions, which is carried out in many parts of India.
According to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India’ s population as a result of systematic gender discrimination in India. In most countries in the world, there are approximately 105 female births for every 100 males. In India, there are less than 93 women for every 100 men in the population. The United Nations says an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India. In our country women face problem in the family and psychological disturbance because of giving birth to the girl child and regretted being women. Most of the women reported that they killed their babies under pressure from their husbands. Many a time the husbands would beat up their wives and force them to kill the female child because she is an economic burden. .
Even though the law is a powerful instrument of change yet law alone cannot root out this social problem. The girls are devalued not only because of the economic considerations but also because of socio-cultural factors, such as, the belief that son extends the lineage, enlarges the family tree, provides protection safety and security to the family and is necessary for salvation as he alone can light the funeral pyre and perform other death related rites and rituals. It is, therefore, essential that these socio and cultural factors be tackled by changing the thought process through awareness generation, mass appeal and social action. It’s a high time that we as a country come together and put an end to this heinous crime.
Eduindex News 