the fountainhead
Suparn@’s blog
A mother’s womb, which was once considered the safest place for a baby, is no longer the same. A daunting thought, it pierces through the conscience of my soul. Some of us, caught up in our own world, won’t even be aware of such a cruelty, moulded as we are by the structure of our society… or maybe we choose not to address it. Female foeticide is an appalling display of violence against women and persists unabatedly in India. After a pre-natal sex determination, female foetuses are selectively aborted, ergo avoiding the birth of girls. Shockingly, this brutality takes place in a higher degree in urban areas than rural areas, thus dispelling a myth that education and increasing affluence results in the desiccation of gender bias. Foeticide is one of those gruesome acts of crime inflicted upon women by a pseudo modern society, which boasts of equality and emancipation of women. A doctor, idolised as god, kills that unborn, defenceless, nascent girl child who cannot even cry aloud. Killing somebody, who is so helpless, seems like the highest degree of cold-blooded murder a practitioner of the one of the noblest profession’s can commit. Is she alive only when she is born? Don’t you think that there is life in her when she is in the womb? The preference for a male child is profoundly anointed in religious customs, beliefs and practices. Despite hundreds of books and articles being written on the issue of female foeticide, the situation remains the same. Most of those in the medical profession come from the same socio-economic background, and have the same attitude towards women. Medical malpractice is thriving in this area with the doctors being sympathetic towards prospective parents and giving in to their demands. The parents and doctors who commit this nefarious act should, categorically, be held responsible. When it comes to the social evils that plague our society, scores of such questions arise, but the answers are not so simple. The answers lie in uprooting those rigid and traditional rituals practiced by all of us who compose this society. We follow the path of truth evolved from those holy books and scriptures, that are considered the words of the almighty, who is perfect. But do we really follow them? We have reshaped those teachings so many times, that the true essence that lies in them is almost lost. We have been manipulating them to the mould we shaped and passing them on to our next generation. This is largely responsible for the ills in our society. We have never abided by the rules of god from the first day itself… Adam ate the apple of wisdom even though he was instructed by God not to. In the end, we finally do what we want to and what we consider is right. We have never introspected what we blindly follow, and thus, our action based on them can never be rightful.
Let’s look at what the ‘official’ statistics look like. A report published by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India titled “Girl Child in the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)” gives a grim picture. The important Human Development Indicators (HDI), which reflects the current status of the girl child are given in the table below: Indicator Males Females Persons Population 81,911,041 75,952,104 157,863,145 Sex Ratio - - 927/1000 IMR (April 2006) - - 58 MMR - 407 - Child Mortality Rate 18.6% 20.6% 19.5% Anemia - 56% - Literacy Rate 75.26 53.67 64.84 A perusal of the various indicators reflects the dismal situation of the girl child. The sharp decline in female sex ratios over the years suggests that female foeticide and infanticide might be primarily responsible for this phenomenon followed by general neglect of the girl child. The sex ratio has been dwindling even in States like Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, which are supposed to be economically prosperous. Female infanticide has been reported from parts of Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The magnitude of girl child mortality is reflected from the fact that every year, about 12 million girls are born in India; a third of these girls die in the first year of their life; three million, or 25 per cent, do not survive to see their fifteenth birthday. The child mortality rate between 0-4 years for girl child is 20.6%, two percent more than that of boys (18.6%). The root cause of malnutrition amongst girls is not just poverty and lack of nutritious food, but also like lack of value attached to girls. Discriminatory feeding practices reveal: The Girl child is also highly susceptible to abuse, violence and exploitation both inside and outside her home. It is a known fact that crimes against girl child have been increasing over the years but very few cases get reported. Rape, trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, beggary are some the forms of violence perpetuated on the girl child. Thus for a girl child, life is a constant fight for survival, growth and development from the time she is conceived until she attains 18 years. The table given below depicts the life chart of a girl child and highlights the many life-threatening problems she faces. Years Problems faced Before Birth to 1 year • Foeticide and Infanticide • Infant mortality • Discrimination in breast feeding and infant food • Neglect of health (immunization) 1 to 11 years (this includes specific problems faced by age groups 1-5 years and 6-11 years) • Discrimination in access to food and health care • Malnutrition and anemia • Health problems like Polio and diarrhea • Iodine and Vitamin A and Micro nutrient deficiency • Low school enrolment and School drop outs • Vulnerable to trafficking, child labour, child marriage • Abuse, exploitation and violence • Domestic chores • Looking after siblings • Restriction on mobility and play • Discrimination in overall treatment and parental care 11 to 18 years (Adolescents) • Poor health • Low literacy level • Restriction on mobility and play • Frequent illness due to Malnutrition, Aneamia and micro-nutrient deficiency • Child Marriage • Early Child bearing morbidity and mortality • Poor access/ Denial to information and services • Early and frequent pregnancy coupled with abortions • Marital and domestic violence • Dowry Harassment, desertion, polygamy, divorce • Child labour, trafficking. • STDs and HIV/ AIDs • Heavy domestic work including commuting long distances to collect fire wood/ drinking water • Unpaid and unrecognized work, and drudgery • No voice either in Home or society Source: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India But is there a solution in sight? Well, by making rules, legislation and punishment, we only keep snipping the shoots that appear from that deep-rooted tree. The perfect solution is to uproot the tree and plant a new seedling. Let us forget the past and look at the present. It is time we got rid of our narrow-minded outlook and change our perception towards the fairer sex. No longer can we consider her as mere objects of desire and a symbol of weakness. She’s empowered and pervades all walks of life. She is Pratibha Patil, Sunita Williams, Indra Nooyi, Kiran Bedi, Kiran Majumdar Shaw and many more.
Women need to fight the oppression and stand united, as they are the emblem of motherhood, love, compassion and power. Let us make this world a safer place for her where she can unfurl and fly higher and higher. Someone somewhere said, "The falling number of girls is alarming. At some places, the number of girls is startlingly low. If the same trend persists, the day is not far when there will be no girls left at all." Come let’s make a concerted effort to prove that wrong.
International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. And yes, this write-up is on and about Women. However, it is aimed, not towards any profession or society, but towards venting, a few thoughts on the barbarity meted out to women. 
