Female foeticide is the selective abortion of female fetuses. It is a very serious problem in India. With the development of medical technologies, it has become simpler to identify the sex of an unborn child. This results in an increase in sex-selective abortions of girls. This is based on patriarchal beliefs that daughters are economic burdens. 

What is Female Foeticide?

The abortion of a female foetus is called female foeticide. Female foeticide is the abortion of a female foetus. Parents who don’t want a girl child can use ultrasound technology to discover the sex of the child while the foetus is still in the womb and subsequently kill the baby in the womb before it is born.

India has witnessed a significant decline in the female population due to female foeticide. Advances like ultrasound and amniocentesis have facilitated sex determination, which has caused more gender-selective abortions. Though legally prohibited, these tests are abused and contribute to the imbalanced sex ratio. It is especially rampant in states of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, where cultural preference for a male son is high. Here are the key points on female foeticide in India:

• Female foeticide means aborting a female fetus only because it is a girl. This practice is common in India.
• The child sex ratio in India in 2011 was 919 girls for every 1,000 boys. This ratio has become worse compared to 1991.
• States with the most skewed ratios include:
  • Haryana (834), Punjab (846), Jammu & Kashmir (862), Rajasthan (888), and Gujarat (890). 
• States with better ratios are:
  • Arunachal Pradesh (972), Mizoram (970), Meghalaya (970), Chhattisgarh (969) and Kerala (964).
• The main reasons for foeticide are:
  • People think boys are assets; girls are burdens.
  • The Dowry system makes people want boys more.
  • New medical tests make it easy to check the sex of a fetus.
• India made a law called Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) in 1994. This stops doctors from telling the sex of the fetus and doing sex-selective abortions.
• But still, the practice continues because people’s thinking has not changed. They still prefer sons over daughters.
• India needs to work more to change people’s attitudes, and make women more empowered.

High Sex Ratio Implication

A high sex ratio (more males than females) results in multiple social problems:

Increase in crimes against women

The more serious situation of imbalanced women causes, among other things, increased cases of trafficking, sexual exploitation, or forced marriages. Women become once again victims of torture, violence, and cases of inequitable treatment, which, in turn, are conducive to other forms of gender inequality and threaten social stability. The imbalance of gender ratio thus provides a fertile ground for bride buying and honor killing. 

Disruptions in marriage patterns

In conjunction with happenings that may stem from this social group asks it more difficult for men to find wives, some appear to go into forced marriages, polyandry, or even human trafficking. This is when girls are married against their wills, making them further deprived of their rights and autonomy within households and in society. 

Decline in workforce participation

The dearth of women leads to quite a sympathetic representation of female workforce participation and converts to low economic growth. Gender inequality in the labor force decreases productivity, we here highlight innovation, and undercuts development-oriented national growth. This reduced women’s access to economic independence, which weakens urban and rural economy resilience. 

Psychological and emotional distress

Women are more prone to experiencing violence and discrimination, and this has a significant impact on their mental health. Gender-based violence, enforced dependency on men, oppression in many faces, etc. lead to cases of depression, anxiety, and poorly developed self-esteem. Moreover, the lack of support acts like an extra fuel to the already burning fire of psychological difficulties, impairing women’s well-being. 

Unbalanced social structures

Distortion of the sex ratio derails social harmony and creates demographic instability of exceedingly longer duration. It skews the entire configuration of population growth and family structures, resulting in problems for society that last for generations. Gender imbalance thus leads to social fragmentation and weaker communal ties and, consequently, stalled town development.