factors responsible for female foeticide
2.1.
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY
Prabhuji mein tori binti karoon Oh,
God, I beg of you,
Paiyan Paroon bar bar I
touch your feet time and again,
Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Na Dije Next
birth don't give me a daughter,
Narak
Dije Chahe Dar... Give
me Hell instead...
-- Folk Song From Uttar Pradesh[1]
Subordination
of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across
experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also
subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations , oppressions, control
and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of
basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over
productive resources, decision -making and livelihood not because of their
biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender
differences which is a social construct. Gender differences are manmade and
they get legitimised in a patriarchal society.
Patriarchy
literally means rule of the father in a male-dominated family. It is a social
and ideological construct which considers men (who are the patriarchs) as
superior to women. Patriarchy is based on a system of power relations which are
hierarchical and unequal where men control women’s production, reproduction and
sexuality. It imposes masculinity and femininity character stereotypes in
society which strengthen the iniquitous power relations between men and women.
Patriarchy is not a constant and gender relations which are dynamic and complex
have changed over the periods of history. The nature of control and subjugation
of women varies from one society to the other as it differs due to the
differences in class, caste, religion, region, ethnicity and the socio-cultural
practices. While subordination of women may differ in terms of its nature,
certain characteristics such as control over women’s sexuality and her reproductive
power cuts across class, caste, ethnicity, religions and regions and is common
to all patriarchies.
2.1.1. SON PREFERENCE
In the ancient Indian text, the Atharva Veda, mantras are written to
change the sex of foetus from girl to a boy. A son’s birth is likened to a
“sunrise in the abode of Gods” and to have a son is as essential as taking food
at least once a day. A daughter’s birth is a cause for great sadness and
disappointment.[2]
Mind set of the Indian parents to have a male child is on account of
the following reasons:
i]
Sons carry on the family name.
ii]
Sons confer the benefit upon the souls
of dead ancestors by offering ‘pinda’ and ‘water’ to them on the occasion of
‘Shradha”. They also conduct funeral rites.
iii]
Sons are entrusted with the task of
supporting their parents in old age.
iv]
Sons bring dowry at the time of
marriage thereby compensating for expenses incurred on their upbringing.
v]
Investing on sons, say on education
or business, the wealth remains within the family itself.
The son mania can be seen from a case reported in the Indian express
wherein an old couple defied age to have a male child in order to have an heir,
though after the birth, the mother is in critical condition.
2.1.1.
DAUGHTER AS A BURDEN
[i] One of the most publicised reasons for female foeticide is the
dowry system prevailing in the society. The practice of Dowry which was mostly
confined to the rich and bride’s father unilaterally according to his capacity
as a symbol of parents love and affection gave ‘varadakshina’; with passage of
time became an instrument of subordination of women and an instrument in the
hands of groom’s parents to extract money or gifts from bride’s parents. The
magnitude of the problem can be adjudged by the fact that on an average one
Indian women commits suicide every four hours over a dowry dispute. According
to data compiled by National Crime Record Bureau a total of 8618 deaths due to
dowry disputes were reported in 2011,
i.e. 23 a day in average; while the figure was 2,276 in 2006, 2,305 in 2005 and
2,585 in 2004.[3]
Dowry as a social evil has become the root cause for the daughters
being treated unequally and treated as a liability. This has resulted in people
resorting to female foeticide, infanticide and female abandonment etc. Commercialization of institution of
marriage, marriage customs and cultural practices have led to large scale
devaluation of girls, making girl child an unwanted burden. People agree with statements
like ‘better to spend Rs.1000 on prenatal diagnostic tests and to save Rs.10
lakhs later’.
[ii] Society believes that daughters in India
Parents start calculating the cost that will be incurred in raising
their daughters i.e. expenses related to child bearing, education, health and
at the time of marriage. It is not a custom in our culture for parents to take
any money from their daughter even if she starts earning. This means that the
money spent on the girl child’s upbringing will not yield any monetary benefit
later. In many areas women are still not encouraged to gain financial
independence.
[iii] Women became collaborators in the ghastly crime, perhaps because
they know from personal experience that the life ahead for the unwanted new
born girl will be sub human existence during which she will die bit by bit
every day. They have travelled through this hell themselves and do not want
their offspring to face the same fate.
Despite the legal safeguards provided for women, violence against women
continues unabated in our country both inside and out side home. As per the
reports of the National Crime Records Bureau, namely Crime in India
·
66 women are raped
·
23 women are murdered due to
dowry
·
272 women face domestic violence
by their husband and his relatives.
·
120 women were molested
·
118 cases of crimes against women
were reported.
Generally, the parents are frightened by incidents of crime and are
unable to protect the girls from untoward happenings. Since they are doubtful
about their duty to protect their girl child, they find escape route by not
bringing her into this world. Society is filled with crime against women and
parents are afraid of their daughter’s future. To get rid of all of their
tension, they avoid the birth of a girl child, so that they do not have to face
the problems like rape, dowry or bride burning etc. A girl child is believed to be a burden to parents as she is
vulnerable to exploitations.
2.2
TWO CHILD FAMILY NORM
Another reason given for the
prevalence of sex selection abortion is India
Poverty and population growth are sole causes which have led the
country to adopt family planning programme. Although the government has not
adopted coercive methods since the Emergency in the 1970s under Indira Gandhi’s
rule, it has become increasingly unfashionable to have a large family in India Punjab , 63% of women and 54% men felt that amniocentesis
should be undertaken if the couple has no son and only daughters. If that test
shows that foetus is female 73% of women and 60% men felt that it should be
aborted.
The government has been selling the idea of two children family for
several decades. Even legislations have been brought to prevent people from
contesting elections if they have more than two children. By adopting the two child
norm, the sex determination is willingly making a choice generally after the
first girl of wanting one male child.
Sex Ratio
for Second Order Births : All India
and North Western States
If first birth was female
|
Total
|
Rural
|
Urban
|
If first birth was male
|
Total
|
Rural
|
Urban
|
All
|
759
|
761
|
751
|
All
|
1103
|
1100
|
1113
|
631
|
653
|
627
|
1057
|
1445
|
973
|
||
670
|
672
|
659
|
1209
|
1209
|
1208
|
||
Haryana
|
667
|
683
|
614
|
Haryana
|
968
|
948
|
1050
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
710
|
716
|
688
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
975
|
1000
|
892
|
749
|
736
|
783
|
1168
|
1199
|
1101
|
||
614
|
631
|
560
|
1003
|
971
|
1102
|
||
Rajasthan
|
674
|
695
|
527
|
Rajasthan
|
1192
|
1174
|
134
|
Source : Lancet 2006, Volume 367: 211-18 (National
Survey of 1.1 Million household)[5]
2.3.
MISUSE OF MODERN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
While preference for male child has always been a part of the society,
non-invasive and instant sex determination through modern medical technology
has made the elimination of girls in the pre conception and early stages of
conception easier. Coupled with this the greed and unethical practices of
medical community have facilitated the increase in rate of female foeticide.
Termination of pregnancy is possible in different ways. Medically three
distinct terms, viz., abortion, miscarriage and premature labour are used to
denote the expulsion of foetus at different stages of gestation. The term
‘abortion’, is used only when an ovum is expelled within the first 3 months of
pregnancy before the placenta is formed. The term ‘miscarriage’ is used when a
foetus is expelled from 4 to 7 month of gestation, before it is viable. Premature
labour is the delivery of a viable child, possibly capable of being reared,
before it has became fully mature.[6]
Pre-natal sex determination techniques were introduced in the early
seventies as aid for early detection and reduction of following abnormalities[7] :
·
Chromosomal abnormalities
·
Genetic metabolic disease
·
Haemoglobino pathies
·
Sex linked genetic diseases
·
Congenital anomalies.
By liberalizing the law on abortion, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy
Act, 1973, allowed abortions on selective basis through amniocentesis test. Scientific
advancement was soon put to use for sex determination purely with the intention
of aborting the female foetus.
The earliest foetal sex determination methods employed were genetic
tests like amniocentesis and chronic Villus Biopsy. Ultrasound machines
appeared in India
The following are the common methods of sex determination during
pregnancy[9]:
i.
Aminiocentesis : In this
technique , amniotic fluid is drawn from amniotic sac through a long needle
inserted in the abdomen to detect foetus cells present in the fluid . It is
normally done after 15-17 weeks of pregnancy.
ii. Chorion Villous Biopsy:
Elongated cells of the chorion [tissue surrounding the foetus] are removed and
tested. It can be done as early as 6-13 weeks of pregnancy.
iii. Ultrasound: With the help of sound
wave a visual image of the foetus can be obtained on a screen. It is normally
done around the tenth week of pregnancy in order to detect foetal
abnormalities. This is the most common method that is being used to detect sex
of unborn child.
After performing sex determination tests various methods are employed
for performing induced abortions[10]:
·
Menstrual
Extraction (endometrial or vacuum aspiration) : This
method is used for most abortions performed during the first trimester. It is
done by suctioning out the lining of the uterus (endometrium) through a thin
opening of the undilated cervix. It is a method used after a woman has just
missed a period, or anytime up to about the eighth week or pregnancy. It can be
performed safely in the doctor’s office and has a very low rate of mortality.
·
Dilation
and Evacuation (D&E) (also called vacuum suction or suction curettage) and
Dilation and Curettage (D&C) : This method is commonly
used for late first trimester or early second trimester abortions. In this
method suction is used to remove the foetus and placenta. The cervix is first
dilated under local anesthesia using a suction tuber that is firm, and a
stronger suction is used than in menstrual extraction. Another way of dilating
the cervix is the use of a type of dried seaweed, called laminaria, which
expands as it absorbs moisture. Some doctors use a hollow, spoon-shaped knife,
or curette, to ensure that all the placental tissues are removed by scraping
the uterine walls.
If
curettes are used throughout the procedure instead of suction, the method is
called dilation and curettage (D&C). Before the twelfth week of pregnancy,
D&E is preferred over D&C because it does not require general anesthesia,
causes less discomfort and is less costly. D&C can be used up to the
twelfth week of pregnancy. The mortality rate for both D&E and D&C is
approximately 3 per 100,000 abortions.
·
Prostaglandin
or Saline Administration : This method is done by injecting
prostaglandins or saline solution through the uterine wall and into the
amniotic sac holding the foetus to induce labor and delivery of a nonviable
fetus. This procedure is commonly used for second trimester abortions.
Prostaglandins may cause nausea, elevated temperatures, and vomiting but are
safer than the saline solution. Mortality rate for second trimester abortions
performed by this method is approximately 20 per 100,000 abortions.
·
Hysterectomy
: This method is similar to caesarian section, the
uterus is opened through a small abdominal incision and the foetus is removed.
Hysterotomy is usually performed only when other methods have failed
repeatedly, it is performed under general anesthesia. It is used between the
twelfth and the twenty fourth week of pregnancy. This method has the greatest
risk of complications out of all the abortion procedures, maternal mortality
rate is approximately 200 per 100,000 abortions.
Following are the various sex selection techniques employed by couples
to bring desired child (girl or boy) into this world[11]:
(i) X-Y
separation : In this, after separating X and Y chromosomes carrying sperms,
the Y chromosome sperms are injected back into uterus to ensure that a boy is
conceived and X chromosome sperms are injected back into the uterus to ensure
that a girl is conceived. The success rate of this method is 65-70 percent.
Various methods currently in use for X-Y.
(i) Ericsson
Method
(ii) Percoll
Gradient
(iii) Albumen Column
(iv) Sephadex
Column
(v) Modified
swim up
(vi) Flow
Cyclometric Separation
(ii) The
Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) : As early as three days after
fertilization, one or two cells are removed from an 8-10 celled embryo and
tested. The selected embryo is then re-implanted into the uterus. The success
rate is about 90 percent for couples wanting girls and 70 per cent for those
wanting boys.
Medical advancements have created by default, a win situation for all;
the family, the clinic and the doctor. In the past 40 years sex determination
clinics have mushroomed in most parts of the country. In order to gain
financially, Doctors who are life givers, have turned into cold blooded
murders. The loss of medical ethics and lack of proper vigilance body over the
community of doctors, has encouraged and sustained the never ending greed for
money.
2.4.
POOR ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS
Apart from the Constitutional guarantees of gender equality and women
empowerment under Articles 14, 15 and 21 read with Articles 39 and 42, there
are specific legislations prohibiting female foeticides.
The provisions from Sections 312 to 316 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
declare the intentional causing of miscarriage as an offence and prescribe
punishment extending to imprisonment for life. Though provisions exist in the
law pertaining to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1973, regarding
abortion of a female during pregnancy in case of risk to a female`s life, this Act
does not cover a situation where the gender of the unborn is a matter of
choice.
The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation & Prevention of
Misuse) Act, 1994 amended in 2003 was passed to regulate the use and to provide
deterrent punishment to stop the misuse of sex determinative techniques.
Inspite of existing laws, umpteen incidents of female foeticide are
taking place. The enforcement of laws against female foeticide is poor, with a
very low rate of prosecution of offenders, including the medical practitioners
and extremely poor conviction rate.
2.5 consequences
Female foeticide is an extreme form of discrimination and violence
against the girls. Consequences of “missing girls” are disastrous.
(A)
The mental and physical health of the
women who undergo sex determination test followed by abortions, suffer mentally
and physically.[12]
(i)
Physical impact: Due to
complications during abortion, sepsis, tetanus, haemorrhage can occur because
of incomplete abortion or injury to any internal organs that may lead to
infertility. In some cases, death may ensue.
(ii)
Psycho-emotional impact: For a
mother who is nurturing a life within, nothing can be more traumatic that
relatives pressurizing her to alter the course of nature. The psychological
impact is far more lasting than physical one as there may be sense of guilt.
Loss of self esteem, crying, mental trauma, depression, nervous breakdown,
self-destructive behaviour, sleep disturbances and nightmares are natural
consequences.
(B)
One of the striking consequence of
female foeticide is the declining sex ratio. The continuing decline in the
number of females may lead to the following problems:
(i) It
will give impetus to the practice of girls being married at younger age. Increased
number of child brides further contributes to poor status of women, as they are
less likely to finish school or develop job skills before marriage. Young
brides and their children are more likely to suffer from increased morbidity and
mortality associated with early child birth.[13]
(ii) It
will also lead to the practice of bride selling. Facing shortage of nubile
girls, villagers are forced to purchase brides for their sons. Skewed sex ratio
is to blame for barter of little girls and import of brides.
(iii) It will result in increased acts of violence
against girls and women, eg., rape,
kidnapping and abduction prostitution and trafficking etc. In China
(iv) It
will result in increased criminal behaviour and indulgence in socially
disruptive behaviour which will destroy the social fabric of the nation.
(v) It will have negative consequences on the
economy, since women are a vital part of India
(C)
The practice of female foeticide has
further deepened the gender divide. It has become an instrument of subjugation
of women, reinforcing the archaic patriarchal norms. This has adversely
affected the development of the society and nation as a whole.
Conceptual framework of causes and consequences of
sex selective abortion
Family Level Variables Consequences
Demographic Factors
Economic Factors
Religious Factors
|
Family Size Preferences
|
Gender Preferences
|
Abortion/ Sex Selective Abortion
|
Obstetric Morbidity
Secondary Infertility
Mental
Health
Sex Ratio
|
Availability of Medical Technology
|
[1] http://www.womenstudies.in/elib/foeticide/fo_female_foeticide.pdf
[3] http://ncrb.nic.in accessed on 18/03/2013
[4] Supra note 3 .
[5] Savitri Ray, “The
Predicament of the Girl Child :To Be or Not to Be ?”, Undoing Our Future – A Report on Status of Young Child in India, 1st
Edn., Printed by Bibliophile South Asia , Sarvodaya Enclave , 2009, p 33.
[6] Jaising
P. Modi, Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence and
Toxicology, 23rd Ed., Lexus-Nexus Butterworths, New Delhi, p.
1042.
[7] Snehal Fadnavis
, “Right of a Female Child to be Born vis-a-vis The Sex Determination Tests”,
6(2) Journal of Human Rights, (Dec
2003), 23 at 25.
[8] Sabu George,
“Sex Selection as Genocide”, Undoing Our
Future –A Report on Status of Young Child in India
[10] http://hubpages.ccm/hub/type-of-abortion.
[11] http://cassa.in/Sexselection_Technologies3.htm.
[12] Supinder
Kaur, Female Foeticide- A Frightful Truth,
1st Edn., Central Law Publications, Allahabad
[13] Sub Group report on Child Protection for 5
year plan (2007-2012), Ministry of Women and Child Development.
[14] Sabu
George, “Sex Selection as Genocide”, Undoing
our Future – A Report on Status of Young Child in India ,
1st Edn., Printed by Bibliophile South Asia, Sarvodaya Enclave,
2009, p-14.
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