– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Bengaluru, March 29: At a time when both female foeticide and female infanticide have not come down despite several legal and social measures undertaken, with a ‘never give up’ mindset campaigns to educate the people are coming up in different styles.
‘Say Yes to Baby Girl’ is one such drive going on. People are requested not to use sex determination and pregnancy termination.
Female foeticide is the process of finding out the sex of the foetus and undergoing abortion if it is a girl. Although illegal, many people continue to practice it. Besides this, there are some communities that practice female infanticide – the practice of killing the girl child once she is born.
Aborting female foetuses is both practical and socially acceptable in India. Female feticide is driven by many factors, but primarily by the prospect of having to pay a dowry to the future bridegroom of a daughter.
Wall posters are spread across the hospitals, especially maternity homes. It has been explained that long ago it was invading devils, but today it is intensive dowries causing innocent girls to death.
“Whether it is a girl or a boy, let us make it a source of joy” and other catchy and appealing slogans are raised to appeal to the conscience of the prospective parents.
A girl is a future wife and a mother, she is a flower, do not trample and let her wither. Protect her for which she is pleading all our help, is the appeal made.
A research by Pew Research Center based on Union government data indicates foeticide of at least 9 million females in the years 2000–2019. In a number of reported selective abortion cases across India in 2022, Karnataka stands ninth in order.
The Indian government passed Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT) in 1994 to ban and punish prenatal sex screening and female foeticide. It is currently illegal in India to determine or disclose sex of the foetus to anyone.
