Female Infanticide, Female Feoticide

 Does modern Indian culture teach us to desire only a son and kill the daughters?  Why and how has this trend of decline in the number of daughters occurred?  Has the attitude towards daughters altered?  Is anyone familiar with the following words: female infanticide, female genital cutting, honor killing? The Girl Child what do you know?

 Female Infanticide: The murder of a female infant. It occurs often as a deliberate murder or abandonment of a young girl or infant.  Selective Abortion: Also called gender-selective abortion, sex-selective abortion, or female feticide- selective abortion. It involves the abortion of a fetus because it is a girl. Many women from communities or cultures with a preference for boys practice selective abortion. The Girl Child forms of discrimination

 Female Genital Cutting (FGC): The practice that involves the removal or the alteration of the female genitalia. It is a centuries-old practice found in many countries among people from various religions and beliefs, most prevalent in Africa.  Honor Killing: The practice of killing girls and women who are perceived to have dishonored a family’s reputation by allegedly engaging in sexual activity or other improprieties before or outside of marriage. ‘Improper’ behavior justifies grounds for killing. It has expanded to include transgressions, which are not initiated by the girl, including rape and incest. The Girl Child forms of discrimination

The Girl Child female infanticide  What: The deliberate killing of a girl child.  Who: Girl children who are born in societies where poverty, overpopulation, and male biases are prevalent.  Where: In regions where poverty and overpopulation are prevalent. It predominantly occurs in societies where girl children are not viewed as economically advantageous.  Why: Lineage, Income, Dowry, Protection, Government

 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, like India.  In rural areas where a lot of people do not have access to sex determination facilities, female infanticide is shockingly common.  The parents wait until the mother gives birth, and when they find out that a daughter is born, they go ahead and kill the baby  Kill by adopting various means such as strangling the baby, giving her poison, dumping her in a garbage bin, drowning her, burying her alive, starving her, stuffing her mouth with salt, or leaving her outdoors overnight so she dies of exposure.

 Female feticide is Aborting a female fetus after sex determination test. Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques includes:- Ultra-sonography, Foetoscopy, Amniocentesis and Taking samples of amniotic fluid, embryo, blood or any tissue or fluid of pregnant women after conception,

 The determination of the sex of the foetus by ultrasound scanning, amniocentesis, and in vitro fertilization has aggravated this situation.  No moral or ethical principle supports such a procedure for gender identification. The situation is further worsened by a lack of awareness of women’s rights and by the indifferent attitude of governments and medical professionals.  The killing of women exists in various forms in societies the world over. However, Indian society displays some unique and particularly brutal versions, such as dowry deaths and sati.  Female foeticide is an extreme manifestation of violence against women. Female foetuses are selectively aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus avoiding the birth of girls.  As a result of selective abortion, between 35 and 40 million girls and women are missing from the Indian population. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1,000.

Causes of Missing Daughter’s Pre - Natal Childhood Female Foeticide * Child marriage, Physical, sexual, * Child prostitution, Emotional abuse. * Physical, sexual, emotional abuse by parents, relatives, * Marginal access to schools, education, food & many other things.

Causes of Missing Daughter’s Adolescence During Adult age Rapes, * Dowry, Sexually harassment, * Family violence & abuse, Murders, * Murders & rapes, Trafficking & Prostitution. * Emotional, physical abuse.

 Currently, 50 million girls are reported as “missing” as a result of infanticide, sex selective abortions, and neglect.  At least 130 million girls alive today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, and 2 million more are at risk every year.  It is reported that at least 5,000 women and girls are murdered each year for “honor’s sake” by members of their own families.  United Nation statistics, national reports and studies initiated by non-governmental organizations repeatedly show that girls, as a group, have lower literacy rates, receive less health care, and more impoverished than boys. Source: Youth Advocate Program International: Source: United Nations Children’s Fund: Source: Amnesty International: The Girl Child facts and statistics

The world population has a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000 males Sex ratio: Japan 1041 USA 1029 Indonesia 1004 Bangladesh 953 China 944 India 933 India has one of the lowest sex ratios in the world

Source: Census of India, 2001.

RURAL VS URBAN CHILD SEX ratio

 Decreasing number of females in the society likely to increase sex related crimes against women.  Lead to increase in social problems like rape, abduction, bride selling, forced polyandry, etc.  There will be increase of prostitution, sexual exploitation and increase in cases of STD and HIV/AIDS  Growth in crime against women and cause various physical, physiological and psychological disorders in women  Health of women is affected as she is forced to go for repeated pregnancies and abortions.

 Do you think that equal education of girls and boys would provide more equal rights and less discrimination against girls?  Who should be in charge of making changes regarding the issues we have discussed today?  Why do you think people continue to commit these acts, even though there are laws against them in some places?  What do you think you can do to help? The Girl Child discussion

 Educate yourself about the rights of the Girl Child.  Contact local, state, and national politicians. Write letters asking for their opinion on the rights of the Girl Child.  Talk with parents about the Gender Discrimination. Educate the adults in your life!  Advocate for awareness of the Gender Eqaulity. Begin a social awareness/ human rights club. The Girl Child what can you do?

The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, In order to check female foeticide, the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 was enacted and came into operation from 1st January, 1996 (referred to as the PNDT Act). However, during the course of implementation of the said Act, certain inadequacies and practical difficulties in the administration of the Act came to the notice of the government. The amended Act came into force with effect from 14 th February, The Act is now read as: The Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, The main purpose has been to ban the use of sex-selection techniques before or after conception as well as the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions and to regulate such techniques. Steps for prevention The Girl Child Steps for prevention

“Vision without action is dream, action without vision is time-pass and vision and action makes radical change i.e. revolution.” Nelson Mandela

Thanks