Grave causes that breed female infanticide in India.
Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of a girl child because of a preference for male children and because of the low economic value associated with female childbirth. These practices arise in areas where cultural norms favour male children over female children. According to a recent report by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as many as 50 million girls and women are missing from India as a result of systematic gender discrimination.
In most countries of the world, there are about 105 female births for every 100 male births. However, in India, there are less than 93 females for every 100 males in the population. Furthermore, according to United Nations, an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted in India every day. The increasing rate of female infanticide rate in India could trigger a demographic crisis where fewer women in society will lead to an increase in sexual violence and child abuse as well as marital splitting. This, in turn, will deteriorate the social value system and may lead to a crisis.
This misogynistic prejudice is by no means limited to poor families. Much of the differentiation has to do with cultural beliefs and social norms. These norms themselves must be challenged if the practice of female infanticide is to stop. The practice of deselection of women in India can be attributed to socio-economic reasons. Studies in India have shown three factors for female de-selection in India, namely economic benefits, socio-cultural benefits and religious functions.
● The economic benefit factor shows that sons are more likely than daughters to take over the family agricultural work or work in or for the family business, earn wages and support their parents in old age. A son makes a daughter-in-law an asset to the family upon marriage by providing extra help with household chores and bringing economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters are married off and earn economic punishment through dowry fees.
● The socio-cultural efficiency factor of female de-selection is that in India’s patrilineal and patriarchal family arrangement, it is mandatory to have at least one son to maintain the family line and many sons provide an additional status to families.
● The final factor of female de-selection is the religious functions that only sons are allowed to perform, based on Hindu tradition that dictates that sons are mandatory to light the funeral pyre of their deceased parents and help save souls
Female infanticide will eat the core of society and it is high time that we strictly abolish this evil practice.
Unless and until we stop discriminating between the sexes, many girl children will not see the light of day and female infanticide will persist. We have to learn to treat and provide equal rights to women across the spectrum, not only at the home, but also in public places, offices, and educational institutes. Save the Children advocates child rights and is at the forefront of fighting for the underprivileged. We too can curb the causes of female infanticide plainly by raising awareness through education through our association with NGOs like Save the Children that work towards abolishing this practice.
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