On Mar.

23, 2014, Rema Nagarajan of TOI reported big drop in child sex ratio of India as per
latest Annual Health Survey data of the census office. Report revealed substantial fall in the
sex ratio in the 0-4 years age group in several districts spread across nine states in India.
Since many of these are the most populous states, this fall would account for lacs of missing
girls. This also means that problem of skewed sex ratio will continue to pester health
reformers. Earlier, all guns were targeted toward doctors as if they have been going home to
home for sex determination test followed by sex directed abortion. Even Amir Khan in his
popular show Satyamev Jayate portrayed doctors on the wrong side. With the introduction of
tracker i.e. third eye with USG machines, issue of female feticide could be tackled to certain
extent and might help in improving sex ratio at birth. However, there is no law to protect the
girl child from neglect within and without her family. Remember popular Ammaji of serial
Is desh na aana lado where newborn girls were shown to be killed by throwing them in
cans full of milk. Rajputs of Rajasthan and dais of Bihar traditionally practised this method.
Now horrifying incidents of female infants being found buried in mud or in bush have been
reported in leading newspapers. Girls are even said to be stolen from other families to be
sacrificed at the altar of God to have a male child. So, the question is whether in this modern
era, are we going to prehistoric time where newborn girls were killed as soon they were born
as facilities for antenatal sex determination were not available or we are going to do deep soul
searching for the reason and then find out the solution in context of Indian mindset.
Most of us will agree that female infanticide is a crime but is still practiced ruthlessly in our
country. In eighty percent of cases, entire family is involved including mother and father of
the new born. Only in ten percent of the cases, women who are educated, independent or
having parental support raises their voice against this crime. If infanticide can be practised
bluntly and blatantly and if it is crime, then why not allow feticide albeit under the ambit of
law, which is not so heinous act. However, all momentum by Government and social activist
in our country has been gathered on feticide with focus on wrongdoings by doctors without
considering or looking into the history of India on such a sensitive issue. Proponents of
choice do not want to see a discussion of sex selective abortion and many people who support
reproductive choice are uncomfortable when debate is held because of fear of being
ostracised. Sex selective abortion poses a genuine conundrum for those who support
reproductive choice.
It is time to rationalize the facts in this context and find a solution amicable to all. If we
examine the female body physiologically,we find that female hormones make woman tender
and emotionally dependent. Their body has specific demands and is made to nurture
reproduction there by making them vulnerable. Anatomically menstruation, pregnancy and
lactation are the main functions of the body of females and that is why family is a very
important issue for every woman. Pregnancy and lactation pose difficult situations for a
woman especially if she is working. She needs immense physical as well as emotional
support during these stages of her life. Physically, in general she cannot be as laborious as a
male can be. Even in International weightlifting championships, standards of weight lifted by
male and female are different. Our seers and ancestors understood these differences very
well. That is why females were allotted specific roles. With this mindset, if we now analyze
the social, cultural and religious fibre of India, we find that females have been traditionally
homemaker and males the breadwinner. In ancient times, man and woman were equally
important for running the family because the ultimate aim to have the family was to run the
lineage. Males could face the challenges of the world more easily whereas females require
protection, privacy and support in many ways. (This fact is relevant even today) Even if we
look at the history of leading civilizations of the world, same role was allotted to males and

females. Males had run the kingdoms, females had supported families and had been helping
their mates in every aspect of life, be it battle or governance. In difficult situations, females
have led the command and even have surpassed their male counterparts but still major role
has been of homemaker and nurturing. In modern times, females have been more liberalized
but major priorities have not changed much although lot are struggling to manage job as well
as home.
With this background, if we start analysing the facts then we find that over time, males had
started dominating the society and this patriarchal system contributed extensively to the
secondary status to women. The patrilineal social structure based on the foundation that the
family life runs through a male makes men a precious commodity that needs to be
protected and given a special status. Another important pillar of the patriarchal structure is
marriage wherein women are given a subordinate status, having no say in the running of their
lives or any control over their bodies or bodily integrity. The groom price is so staggeringly
high irrespective of the class structure that generations may have to toil to repay the debts
incurred during marriage. All of this has contributed to a secondary status for women in
society to such an extent that even the birth of a girl child in a family is sought to be avoided.
Beliefs such as it is the son only who can perform the last rites, lineage and inheritance
runs through the male line, sons will look after parents in old age, men are the
breadwinners, etc are some of the other reasons that contribute to the mediocre status of
women in our society. Boy-preference is so ingrained in the Indian family system that many
women do not feel they have done their wifely duty until they produce a son.
A deleterious fall-out of the subjugated position of women is their vulnerability to domestic
violence, rape, sexual abuse, dowry harassment, trafficking, etc with little or no mechanisms
for combating the same, by way of either effective laws and implementation or civil society
action.
Similar glaring example can be seen with widows. Patriarchy has played the biggest role in
the total marginalization of widows. As widows, women suffer some of the most severe
subjugation for their entire lives. Widowed women are harassed, abused, and denied land and
livelihood. Criticized for being dependent, widows are severely restricted by cultural norms.
Local interpretations of the custom of the caste determine whether a widow will be granted
some permanent or temporary share of the joint family's land or property or not. In rural India
land ownership tends to engender the bitterest family disputes and are even more
horrendously intense when a husband dies. A full account of land inheritance in India would
have to distinguish between 1) traditional law 2) modern law and 3) actual practice.
The patriarchal nature of Indian society vests all economic and social powers in a man. In the
name of religion, males perpetuate innumerable atrocities against women. Even a tottering
old man tries to marry after his wife dies. To deal with such deplorable situation every girl /
female / widow has to demand her rights and exercise them. To understand her rights she has
to be literate, courageous and mobile. She needs to be able to assist her claims along with the
males. For a rural female, this is impossible. Even caste plays havoc on girls / women. Highclass males will never marry low caste girl but rape them and kill them for their own
satisfaction. Recent incident in UP in Badaun District is a glaring example where two dalit
girls were raped, murdered and then were hanged from a tree. With politicians making their
own points on such incidences, how can the Government of India think that male female ratio
will not be skewed. Females in India, in general, are completely unequipped to deal with the
bureaucracy, confront males, strangers and while seeking outside assistance often make
themselves susceptible to more abuse.

With number of rape incidents increasing in India, with no political will to control the same,
with no policies to support girls / women in general, with 33% reservation bill for women
still pending in Parliament, with no defined laws or support system for widows, with caste
still a major factor in India, with ineffective implementation of schemes meant for welfare of
girls / women, with inequalities in rights and education, is it difficult to understand the
mindset of common man regarding feticide / infanticide?
Therefore, as a doctor and feminist, I am of the firm opinion that sex determination based
feticide should be legalized in India but not repetitively. Number of such abortions can be
restricted to two or three or discussion should be held to determine the permissible limit of
such abortions. Side by side, adverse effects of such abortions on physical, emotional and
spiritual health of the mother should be highlighted or conveyed to family/ female. Just like
polio vaccine for children and Tetanus Vaccine for pregnant mothers gained momentum by
the push from Government of India, this message regarding restrictive sex determination
abortions and law can be enforced.
More importantly, side by side, if support systems are established in such a way that every
girl is taken care of to such an extent that whatever happens, but one is confident that there is
some support, feticide/infanticide will drop automatically. Government need not target
doctors or Ultrasound machines but need to revamp whole system so that girls are taken care
of as precious commodity like gold.
By
Dr Sujata Mittal