Dr. Devendra Kothari
Population and Development Analyst
Forum for Population Action
The preference for sons
coupled with desire for small family, however, is not the only reason for the
practice of female infanticide and selective abortion. There are actual
disincentives and costs associated with raising girl children in the prevailing
situation in India especially in the North India. In general, girls still have
lower economic earning potential than boys. “Compared with men, women have
fewer opportunities for paid employment and less access to skill training that
would make such employment possible”[1]. Work force participation rate especially in the
organized sector (paid employment) is a good indicator of status of women in a
country. In the organized sector, only 19% were women employees in 2008. Further, out of 3.11
million regular employees of the Central Government as on 31st March, 2008 only
0.31 million were women. The proportion of women employees
out of the total central government employees in 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2008
were 2.5, 3.6, 7.6, 7.5 and 10.0 only. No doubt, the proportion of women in the
public sector employment shows an increasing trend but at extremely slow pace[2].
The females
have often been a victim to the worst forms of discrimination and it has
increased significantly in recent years. The Global Gender Gap Report 2011,
released by the World Economic Forum, reveals a stark and deep rooted gender
gap in India. It is pathetically ranked 113 amongst the 135 countries
considered. The country
has fallen from 96th rank in 2006 to 113th in the last 6
years according to the Report. This
is a rather shameful reflection of the
conditions in a country that is said to be on a growth song. It appears that the impact of the
economic reform program in enhancing the quality of human life in India has
been limited. The reform program concentrated more on the fiscal, structural
and trade adjustment rather than improving the social sector development
including quality of life and reducing gender gap[3].
In addition, there has been a continuous rise in the
incidence of crimes committed against women over the years. According to the latest crime statistics, released
by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) - the statistical arm of Indian Police
under ministry of home affairs, Government of India on 3 July 2012, rape with
24206 cases in 2011, emerged as the biggest crime in India against women.
Kidnapping and abduction was the other major crime in the country followed by
murder. Among the IPC
crimes, an increase of 43% was registered in kidnapping and abduction of
females in 2011 as compared to 2010, while rape cases were increased by 30%,
trafficking of minor girls recorded an increase of 27%. What is most disturbing is the
fact that about 11% of the rape victims in 2007 were under 14 years of age,
while 28% were teenaged girls (14-18 years). Girls raped, beaten, dumped even in the metros[4]. 23-year-old girl was
raped in a moving bus in heart of New Delhi by four people for about 25 minutes
on December 16, 2012 and doctors who attended her at the Safdurjung Hospital claimed they had never seen a victim of sexual assault
subjected to “such brutality”. This is another grim reminder of how unsafe are
girls/women even in the capital of India.
It is very shameful for us that we are
doing nothing good for the girls in India, but what we are doing is telling
them that they should not wear jeans, they should not carry mobile phones,
and they should cover their faces. Further, the horrific cycle of
honor killings to protect the honor of family or a caste has now spread its
tentacles to entire India. According to
National Commission for Women, honor killings take place when young boys and
girls challenge accepted norms of marriage. It arises from the fear of feudal
village lords that women in their villages or community would challenge them.
Honor killings to ‘guard’ honor are shaking India in a dreadful manner.
For
example, the Manoj-Babli honor killing case was an honor killing took place in June 2007. The killing was ordered by
a khap panchayat, a clan or caste-based
council in Karora village in Haryana.
The khap passed a degree prohibiting marriage
against societal norms. Nevertheless the couple went ahead with their marriage, following
which they were abducted and killed by Babli's relatives. Similarly, Monika
and Rinku were done in by their kin in 2010. The murder forced the Supreme Court
of India to interfere in the issue. On June 21, 2010, the Court issued notices
to the Government of India and several State Governments to take action against
the killing of young couples. But such crimes are not only on the rise, but traditional
leaders have gone much further than they ever did in the past, and now even
questioning the Hindu Marriage Act or
age at marriage.
Was there no prejudice against girl child earlier?
Sure, there was. It was only when they began to demand their rights as “equal citizens”,
that lynching began. “Why has our world suddenly
become so intolerant? Have we turned the clock back?” Ask renowned social scientist, Prof. Dipankar Gupta. He thinks: “Not
exactly! Women are being attacked
not because of a backward movement, but because there is a forward thrust.
Women, today, end up offending patriarchal norms simply because they are
exercising choice in a way that was unavailable to them in the past. If
grandfathers are killing their granddaughters in the name of culture, it is
because they feel the old world slipping away. As long as everybody lived by
established mores, nobody got hurt. Do things differently and the heavy hand of
tradition lands on you”[5].
There is
considerable merit in Prof. Gupta’s explaination. It's
true that women are getting their position in public/private sector, jobs,
politics, and education. They are moving by attaching shoulder to shoulder with
men. This seems a big change and irritates offenders. They raise violence &
try to make it worst. Despite the dedicated efforts in last 10 years, girl
children in India are at risk of unsafe childhoods and lots of restrictions. As
such rising numbers are not even allowed the right to be born, but those who
survive birth are not socially valued, and endure fear, risk and
mistreatment. Open the newspapers and the reports of violence and discrimination
against women are so brutal that they curdle your morning tea. It appears that it was as if the
medieval world had suddenly returned.
Much of the discrimination is to do with cultural
beliefs and social norms which have become more pronounced in the absence of
deteriorating governance and low and order. Raising a girl child in such
situation is very difficult. Women who live in such environment where they are
made miserable through injustice and inequality may not want to raise daughters
who will live lives as unhappy as their own. Women have used this excuse as a
rationale for killing their girl children. Many women in several parts of India
don’t want to have a daughter who would go through the same misery, humiliation
and dependence that seemed to define their own lives. That may be the main reason why many parents
want to avoid a girl child that is why the child sex ratio declined in 27 out
of 35 States and Union Territories of Indian Union in 2011 as compared to 2001. Frankly and truthfully speaking, in the
changed situation, a sizable number of Indians especially females do not want a
female child since female
children in India continue to get a raw deal in most cases. One can ask
questions: Save girl child for what? Eve-teasing? Dowry? Rapes? Domestic
violence? This what we have in store for them. This is why we want to save
them?
This prevailing view is being supported by Taslima Nasreen - a writer, a feminist, a human rights
activist, a physician, and a secular humanist in her thought provoking article
entitled:”It’s a girl!” ”Kill her”. “The
women who support female feticide say: ‘It is better that an insufferable life ends
before it can begin. It is better to go straight to heaven than stay alive and
endure the kicks and blows of the world.’ Are they wrong in saying
this? This society is not a fit place for girls, so it is better not to allow
them to be born”, argues Nasreen. She writes further: “How helpless she
must be not to have the slightest control over the fetus growing inside her
womb! Women are compelled to yield to societal as well as many kinds of family
pressure and opt for abort a female fetus. An undesired pregnancy is not as
terrible as this forsaken, helpless, undignified, disgraceful condition of
women”.
It appears that violence and
discrimination against girl child has become a significant social phenomenon in
several parts of India leading to the high rate of female
feticide and infanticide.
This trend has been helped further with the progress in science and
technology. Now, modern techniques are easily available to select the sex of
fetus. Killing your own
baby has serious psychological effects on the parents. I would say most do not
wish to kill their baby but it is the poor socio-economic circumstances and
weak enforcement of law and order they are in that this happens.
To deal with a problem that
has roots in social behavior and prejudice, mere legislation is not enough. But one can not ignore the fact that the justice in
India takes too long. We really need to reassess our laws so that justice
happens faster. Also, we have to empower law-enforcing-mechanism, which
will send out the unmistakable message that the law is willing and able to crack
down hard on criminals. To achieve the long-term vision, however extra efforts,
which are most important, should be made to create an environment where sons
and daughters are equally valued. To create enabling environment, women must
have access to education and training along with economic empowerment through
property rights, favorable credit and entrepreneurial support as well as
opportunity in paid employment.
Higher women employment not only empowers women but generates
the economic benefits of empowering women -
and the numbers are big. An international report entitled: "Empowering the Third Billion: Women and the World
of Work in 2012” by Booz & Company,
which finds
different countries' GDP growing
exponentially if female employment rates match those of men[6]. Accordingly,
India's GDP would skyrocket by approximately 27%, if an equal number of Indian
women joined the workforce. Quantitative
evidence in the report reveals for the first time that empowering women
actually improves the prosperity of nations and the overall quality of life,
including increasing per capita GDP, literacy rates, and access to education,
and lowering infant mortality rates. The report also ranked 128 countries based
on the social and economic status of women and India occupies an abysmal 115th
spot. Women's employment thus offers dual benefits - it reduces gender gap and
strengthens a nation's economy. According to the report countries like
Malaysia, Vietnam, Venezuela, Tunisia and
even Bangladesh, which instituted strong measures helping women join jobs, are
starting to enjoy predicted gains.
It is high time that we realistically enable women
taking jobs. Instead of asking a man to pay his wife for her domestic work,
the State must create jobs for women outside the home in order to truly empower
them. If the government is proposing to
correct gender inequality by making husbands pay their wives the wages that
maids might be paid for domestic labor, that could equally plausibly disempower
as empower women within the family. The sheer absurdity of such initiative boggles
the mind[7].
The government can do far more for women by ensuring total female literacy, and
enforcing existing laws against rape and domestic violence. Also, granting women employment raises their status and autonomy. Having a gainful employment can raise the
perceived worth of females. This can lead to a decrease in the gender
inequality and a decrease in the number of female feticide and infanticide.
Since
infanticide, especially neonaticide (the murder
of an infant during the first day of life), is often a response to an
unwanted birth, preventing unwanted pregnancies through
improved sex education and
increased contraceptives access
are advocated as ways of preventing infanticide. Increased use of contraceptives and
access to safe legal abortions has
greatly reduced neonaticide in many developed nations[8]. It is estimated
that more than 26 million children are born in India every year and out of this
about 6 million births have been classified as unplanned. Approximately
two-thirds of the unintended pregnancies resulted from non-use of
contraceptives; clearly indicating the need for easy availability of quality
reproductive health services. In addition, around one-third of unintended
pregnancies resulted from the ineffective use of contraceptives, which suggests
the need for improved counseling and follow-up of couples that adopt a method. Therefore,
addressing inequalities in access to and use of reproductive health services
including contraceptive services will be a powerful tool in empowering the
women thus reducing the gender gap. In addition, measures
like post-delivery tracking and mandatory reporting of newborns may help to
reduce the incidence of female infanticide.
Along with this,
long-term measures of sensitizing the society to change their mind-set which is
negatively disposed towards the girl child – as un-wanted, neglected and
discriminated both within and outside her home, will also be put into action
throughout the country with a special focus on the problem districts and
problem communities. The campaign like “Hamari Beti Expresses” a van, for
creating awareness against female feticide was launched by the government of
Rajasthan on 2012 is the need of the hour. Further, despite significant improvement in
living standards over the last few decades, Census of India 2011 reveals a
picture that is far from respectable looking to the high economic growth. About half of
total households in India still defecate in open. This
situation is particularly piquant for women and girls. Based on the Census data, it is estimated
that around 290 million women in India (270 in rural India and 20 million in
urban India), the worst sufferers of open defecation, continue with the age-old
practice even after 20 years of economic reforms. One has to recognize that poor
availability of certain household amenities including safe drinking water; sanitation facilities; smokeless
cooking fuel and electricity create obstacles in improving the status of women.
Absence of these facilities increases women’s workload as well as their
physical and mental fatigue[9].
There is no denying that both our
society and our governments have done little to inspire confidence among women
especially those belonging to middle and lower strata. The government must take
the lead to save girl child.
No doubt that in the future the child sex ratio will improve
in favor of girls, once situation settled down. The experience of China, South Korea, Taiwan
and Vietnam suggests that the country is passing through a transitional phase.
However, concerted efforts, as argued above, are urgently needed to create
equal regard and affection for the girl child.
Otherwise the population will become skewed leading to a host of
societal problems like increased crime against women. The greater efforts have
to be made to improve the dignity of girl child by improving educational
facilities as well as paid employment opportunities to reduce the period of
transition phase. If we do not take
required steps immediately, Census of India 2021 will repeat the old story and
the child sex ratio may decline below 900 girls per 1000 boys. The
day is not very far when people in India either stop bringing Girl child to life or they will stop
sending their girl child to schools or anywhere
out of the their home!
Concluded
[1] See article on net. : Preventing measures for elimination of female
foeticide by B Siwal, NIPCCD, New Delhi
[2] For details, see: Census of Central Government
Employees, Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India, 2011.
[3] Srinivasa Rao Gangadharan
and CA Yoonus. 2012. Impact of the Economic
Reform Programme on the quality of human life in India, Journal of Health
Management, 14 (20), 182-199.
[4] A look at the
National Crime Records Bureau data
confirms the worst fears about metros. 572 women were raped in Delhi in 2011 as
compared to 239 in Mumbai. Other metropolitan cities reported fewer instances:
96 in Bangalore, 76 in Chennai, 47 in Kolkata.
[5] For details: see newspaper article- The backlash against equality - by Dipankar Gupta, Times of India, dated December 8, 2012. Also see: Kothari, Devendra. 2012. “Empowering Women in India through better
Reproductive Healthcare”, in Sheel Sharma and Angella Atwaru Ateri (eds.)
Empowering Women through Better HealthCare and Nutrition in Developing
Countries, New Delhi: Regency Publications, 2012, pp 68-86.
[6] For a copy of the “Empowering the Third Billion: Women
and the World of Work in 2012”, by the Booz & Company visit:
http://www.booz.com/global/home/what_we_think/third_billion.
[7] Government of India is seriously mulling a proposal to
make it mandatory for men to share a certain percentage of their income with
their wives, if the latter should stay at home and do household chores. Women
and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath wants
to quantify and calculate the value of work that housebound wives do for their
families, and ensure they are paid this amount by their husbands. For details,
see Newspaper article: “Government
considering salary for housewives from husbands: TIMES VIEW”, Times of India, September 11, 2012.
[8]For details see: Friedman SH and, Resnick PJ. 2009.
"Neonaticide: Phenomenology and considerations for prevention". Int J Law Psychiatry 32 (1): 43–47.
[9] See post on: “Quality of life and living environment in India”
dated September 30, 2012 by the author at the link: kotharionindia@blogspot.com.
Also see article by the author “West Bengal: Household amenities with special reference to water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) and their implications”, UNICEF West Bengal, Kolkata, 2012
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