Amit Baijnath Garg
Female foeticide remains one of the gravest challenges facing Indian society. Despite laws, campaigns, and awareness drives, the practice continues to distort the sex ratio, deepen social imbalance, and erode the dignity of women.
A Persistent Crime
The recently released film Chhori-2 has reignited the debate on foeticide. But this crime is not new. Across centuries, girl children have been denied the right to live — sometimes killed before birth, sometimes abandoned or buried alive after birth. In India, cases of female foeticide and infanticide continue to surface with alarming frequency.
A Pew Research Center study based on Government of India data estimates that from 2000 to 2019, nearly 90 lakh female foeticide cases occurred. Among them, 86.7 percent were in Hindu families, 6.6 percent among Muslims, and 4.9 percent among Sikhs.
Census 2011 revealed the sex ratio in the 0–6 age group was 914 girls per 1,000 boys, down from 945 in 1991. A UN report says India has contributed 45.8 million to the world’s “missing female children” in the past 50 years. Together, India and China account for 90–95 percent of the 1.5 million missing female births each year.
Startling Numbers
Two Lancet reports underline the gravity. Analysis of 21 lakh birth histories between 1981 and 2016 showed missing female births rose due to sex-selective abortions. India’s birth sex ratio stands at 110 boys per 100 girls, compared to the global average of 101.
Another Lancet report highlighted that 2.39 lakh additional deaths of girls under five occur annually in India, mainly from neglect and malnutrition. NCRB data recorded 63 cases of infanticide in 2022, with Maharashtra topping the list. Experts believe the real numbers are much higher, with many cases disguised as stillbirths or natural deaths.
Spread to New Regions
States like Haryana and Punjab have long reported severe gender imbalances. But now, similar patterns are emerging in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019, not a single girl was born in 132 villages of Uttarakhand for three months, raising fears of widespread foeticide.
Officials admit that thousands of clinics still conduct sex-determination tests illegally, despite the ban. Resources to monitor all such centers remain limited. This makes community awareness crucial.
Social Consequences
The fallout is already visible. In many states, young men struggle to find brides. As a result, girls are trafficked or purchased from poor families in states such as Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. In some regions, practices like polyandry — one woman married to multiple men — are resurfacing.
Frequent abortions also endanger women’s health. Social workers warn that a shrinking number of women could fuel crimes like abductions, assaults, and forced marriages.
Roots of the Problem
The preference for sons remains deeply entrenched. Families seek boys to carry the family name, perform last rites, and serve as breadwinners. Both rural and urban areas, from uneducated households to well-off city families, participate in this practice.
Population control policies have also had unintended consequences. In states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, restrictions on benefits and government jobs for parents with more than two children pushed some families towards foeticide to ensure a male child.
A Call for Change
Female foeticide is not only a crime against daughters but also a threat to society’s balance. To end it, change must begin in every household. Families must recognize daughters as equal, deserving of education, nutrition, and dignity.
Celebrating the birth of girls is the first step. Awareness, coupled with strict enforcement of laws, can slowly reverse the decline. Daughters are not a burden; they are the strength of society.
Only by changing mindsets can we secure a future where every child, regardless of gender, has the right to life.
(Note:Amit Baijnath Garg is a social commentator and writer based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He writes on social issues with a focus on gender justice, education, and community welfare.)
