Wednesday, March 10, 2010
BORN TO DIE…….Female Infanticide
Posted on 9:18 PM by JAYA ANAND
Will the problem of female infanticide ever be solved? Sadly, this is a major issue still faced by many policy makers and NGOs of our country.
The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history.
"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 arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades "patriarchal" societies It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, and neglect of girl children.
This is done after a determination is made usually by ultrasound but also rarely by amniocentesis or another procedure that the fetus is of an undesired sex. Sex selective infanticide is the practice of selective infanticide against infants of an undesired sex. One common method is child abandonment.
These practices are especially common in some places where cultural norms value male children over female children. Societies that practice sex selection in favor of males are quite common, China, India and Pakistan, many other developing countries in Asia and North Africa.
The practice of female deselection in India could be attributed to socioeconomic reasons. There is a belief by certain people in India that female children are inherently less worthy because they leave home and family when they marry, a system known to anthropologists as patrilocality.
Studies in India have indicated three factors of female deselection in India, which are economic utility, sociocultural utility, and religious functions. The factor as to economic utility is that studies indicate that sons are more likely than daughters to provide family farm labor or provide in or for a family business, earn wages, and give old-age support for parents. Upon marriage, a son makes a daughter-in-law an addition and asset to the family providing additional assistance in household work and brings an economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters get married off and merit an economic penalty through dowry charges.
In India, there are less than 93 women for every 100 men in the population. The accepted reason for such a disparity is the practice of female infanticide in India
In some countries, it is currently illegal to determine the sex of a child during pregnancy using ultra-sound scans. Laboratories are prohibited to reveal the fetus's sex during such scans. While most established labs comply with the law, determined persons can find a cheaper lab that would tell them. Like the Chinese, the Indians also use the postnatal alternative, which is sex-selective infanticide.
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 by adopting various means such as giving her poison, dumping her in a garbage bin, drowning her, burying her alive, stuffing her mouth with salt.
Although disclosing the gender of a foetus is illegal, there are numerous doctors that disclose the child's sex for an enhanced fee, and then offer to arrange for the abortion. Thus although there is a good law in place, its implementation is not as effective as it should be.
Although all of us take pride in our Indian culture, we need to recognize that there is something fundamentally wrong with a culture that assumes the superiority of males, and that celebrates Indian women for being meek, submissive and sacrificial. One way you can help counter this mindset is by being proud of the women in your life, and by taking pride in yourself if you are a woman.
The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history.
"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 arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades "patriarchal" societies It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, and neglect of girl children.
This is done after a determination is made usually by ultrasound but also rarely by amniocentesis or another procedure that the fetus is of an undesired sex. Sex selective infanticide is the practice of selective infanticide against infants of an undesired sex. One common method is child abandonment.
These practices are especially common in some places where cultural norms value male children over female children. Societies that practice sex selection in favor of males are quite common, China, India and Pakistan, many other developing countries in Asia and North Africa.
The practice of female deselection in India could be attributed to socioeconomic reasons. There is a belief by certain people in India that female children are inherently less worthy because they leave home and family when they marry, a system known to anthropologists as patrilocality.
Studies in India have indicated three factors of female deselection in India, which are economic utility, sociocultural utility, and religious functions. The factor as to economic utility is that studies indicate that sons are more likely than daughters to provide family farm labor or provide in or for a family business, earn wages, and give old-age support for parents. Upon marriage, a son makes a daughter-in-law an addition and asset to the family providing additional assistance in household work and brings an economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters get married off and merit an economic penalty through dowry charges.
In India, there are less than 93 women for every 100 men in the population. The accepted reason for such a disparity is the practice of female infanticide in India
In some countries, it is currently illegal to determine the sex of a child during pregnancy using ultra-sound scans. Laboratories are prohibited to reveal the fetus's sex during such scans. While most established labs comply with the law, determined persons can find a cheaper lab that would tell them. Like the Chinese, the Indians also use the postnatal alternative, which is sex-selective infanticide.
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 by adopting various means such as giving her poison, dumping her in a garbage bin, drowning her, burying her alive, stuffing her mouth with salt.
Although disclosing the gender of a foetus is illegal, there are numerous doctors that disclose the child's sex for an enhanced fee, and then offer to arrange for the abortion. Thus although there is a good law in place, its implementation is not as effective as it should be.
Although all of us take pride in our Indian culture, we need to recognize that there is something fundamentally wrong with a culture that assumes the superiority of males, and that celebrates Indian women for being meek, submissive and sacrificial. One way you can help counter this mindset is by being proud of the women in your life, and by taking pride in yourself if you are a woman.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Do give comments...
ReplyDeleteEven I agree, that the mindset of the rural population need to be changed... nice article..
ReplyDeleteyeah.. if this all wont be stoped thn polician can take away and go with there 33% also...
ReplyDelete