Alarming facts of child sex ratio in Census of India 2011

Preliminary statistics from the 2011 Census show that the child sex ratio — the number of females against that of males — has declined further since the last Census 10 years ago. The figure now stands at 914 females for every 1,000 males — the lowest since 1947.

Are we really a nation that so hates its female population that despite being aware of what the absence of women can mean for any society — certain death for they are, after all, the reproducers — we continue to kill them even before they are born? We have plenty of evidence now to show that in some villages in Haryana, there are no women at all. So when it comes to seeking marriage partners, men have to ‘ import’ them from other states.

There’s also evidence to show that despite being made illegal, sex-determination tests are rampant, with doctors making money hand over fist and in collusion with heartless parents.

And yet, we’re a country of remarkable developments where women are concerned. Our Constitution gives women equal rights and respect; we have women in top positions in virtually every sphere of life; we have some of the most progressive pieces of legislation in the world; we have a dynamic and strong women’s movement … the list could go on and on.

So what is it then that continues to act against women? The alarm at the declining sex ratio has led the government to recruit religious leaders into the campaign for the girl child. Big amounts are spent on posters, advertisements and stories that value the girl child. But none of this seems to change anything. Why is that? Perhaps it’s time we asked ourselves some hard questions.

Among all the many media messages the state has put out about girl children, or about health, why has there never been a concerted campaign to establish that it is the man who is responsible for the sex of the foetus, not the woman? If that knowledge were to become widespread, would so many women be targeted for producing female children? And would female children themselves be killed in the womb? Equally, is it any use recruiting messages out about been establish who the to so producing And themselves recruiting religious leaders into the campaign, or even secular ones, if everything else that they do, acts against women?

Remember it was not so long ago that the Chief Justice of India made a public statement that it was ‘unnatural’ for women to work outside the home. We’re an odd people — we’re ready to ban a book, or indeed make it a crime, to insult or critique Gandhi, and yet women in this country get insulted every day, every second, and we don’t do anything about it.

Perhaps the only tiny ray of hope is that after so many years, the legal system has finally held a handful of doctors guilty for performing sex- selection tests. If punishment is the only way we learn, here’s hoping theirs will be severe and it will act as a deterrent to others — although it almost seems as if that is too much to hope for. The truth is that a country that so devalues its women does not deserve to pride itself on its economic growth, if it’s a growth built on the mass murder of its girl children.