India ranks top in the world as far as female foeticide is concerned! It seems unlikely that the South Asian Nation will move away from that position in the near future. According to experts, if the trend continues, then 469,000 girl-children will be killed in side their mothers’ wombs every year between 2017 and 2025! In other words, about 6.8 million girls will be murdered even before their birth by the end of 2030. As per a recent survey, the Northern Indian Province of Uttar Pradesh will secure the top position in this regard. It’s a horrible image… without a shade of doubt.

However, there is a clear law to prevent female foeticide in India. According to the law that had come to force in 1994, both determining the gender of a fetus or Sex Determination Test (SDT) and killing a female foeticide are punishable offenses. Still, the Union Government and Provincial Governments have not taken drastic steps required to stop this heinous crime. As a result, SDTs and female feticides are rampant in the country, despite the existence of the law…

In its 2018 report, The NITI Aayog – a policy think-tank of the Government of India established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals with Co-operative Federalism by fostering the involvement of Provincial Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach – mentioned that there was a significant decline in the birth rate of girl children in 18 of the 21 Indian Provinces between 2012 and 2015. According to experts, criminals are not at all bothered about the law. It is a fact that legal actions have been taken against many doctors for breaking the law and for killing female foetuses in recent times. Unfortunately, the number of convicts is negligible. Hence, no one could stop the SDTs and abortions, which are being performed secretly at different clinics through ultrasound technology. It is not just that India is killing girl-children, there is also an increase in cases of maternity deaths due to abortions done by incompetent persons.

Nobel Laureate Indian Economist Amartya Sen discussed this particular issue in his publication, ‘Missing Women‘, way back in 1990. Missing Women means that less than the number of girls in a country or region should actually have. Since then, three decades have passed. Female foeticide still continues in India! It is not just that the law has not been properly enforced. The age-old mentality of the society, too, is responsible for not wanting a girl child. Another crime that is closely linked to female foeticide is the Dowry System, which refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage in India. Also in this particular case, no one in India hesitates to break the law! The perpetrators of crimes, such as marriage and consequent torture of brides, prostitution, and the killing of female foetuses, receive supports from the administration, police and medical practitioners, etc.

Experts are of the opinion that women’s empowerment is necessary to put a stop to female foeticide in India. From education to wealth, everything has to reach the girls, so that the Nation becomes liveable for her daughters, yet unborn…

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das