BORN TO DIE - Female Infanticide in India and the state policies against it

Crime against women is an issue of national shame. Women are subjected to various forms of violence in all societies across the world. Among them, gender-selective violence is insidious. And unfortunately, female foeticide and infanticide are the two forms of gender-selective violence that are largely prevalent in developing countries like India.

Female infanticide in India has a history spanning centuries. Poverty, the dowry system, births to unmarried women, deformed infants, famine, lack of support services and maternal illnesses such as postpartum depression are among the causes that have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of female infanticide in India. Sex-selective abortions and an increase in the number of female infanticide cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India with the increased availability of modern sex determination techniques such as amniocentesis, ultrasound and trans vaginal probes.

Although infanticide has been criminalised in India, it remains an under-reported crime due to the lack of reliable data. India has one of the highest female foeticide incidents in the world. The female child population in the age group of 0-6 years declined from 78.83 million in 2001 to 75.84 million in 2011. During the period 1991-2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 945 to 914.

Photo by Baby Concept from Pexels

Following this the Government has come out with various plans and policies from time to time to address the issues of female infanticide.

In 1991 the Girl Child Protection Scheme was launched. This operates as a long-term financial incentive, with rural families having to meet certain obligations such as sterilisation of the mother. Once the obligations are met, the state puts aside ₹2000 in a state-run fund. The fund, which should grow to ₹10,000, is released to the daughter when she is 20: she can use it either to marry or to pursue higher education.

National Plan of Action exclusively for the girl child (1991-2000) was formulated in 1992 for the "Survival, Protection and Development of the Girl Children". The Plan recognized the rights of the girl child to equal opportunity, to be free from hunger, illiteracy, ignorance and exploitation.

In 1992 the Government of India started the "baby cradle scheme". This allows families anonymously to give their child up for adoption without having to go through the formal procedure. The scheme has been praised for possibly saving the lives of thousands of baby girls but also criticised by human rights groups, who say that the scheme encourages child abandonment and also reinforces the low status in which women are held.

Besides having specific legislation and policy proclamations to deal with this menace, the precipitating factors such as dowry, poverty, and woman’s economic dependence etc., leading to the problem of foeticide and infanticide have been addressed by enacting various legislations as:

• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961(Amended in 1986);

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955;

• Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956;

• Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986

• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 etc.

In the recent Years Government also came out with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padao Scheme (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls in India and to address the issue of the declining child sex ratio.

While these various other legislations and policy proclamations intend to bring about women’s economic and social empowerment to the maximum, law alone cannot root out this social problem even though being a powerful instrument. The girls are devalued not only because of the economic considerations but also because of socio-cultural factors, such as the belief that son extends the lineage, enlarges the family tree, provides protection safety and security to the family and is necessary for salvation as he alone can light the funeral pyre and perform other death-related rites and rituals. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences indicates that the problem of female foeticide and infanticide is more prevalent in orthodox families. It is, therefore, essential that these socio-cultural factors be tackled by changing the thought process through awareness generation, mass appeal and social action. In addition to this, all concerned i.e. the religious and social leaders, voluntary organisations, women’s groups, socially responsible media, the doctors; the Medical Council/Association (by enforcing medical ethics and penalties on deviant doctors) and the law enforcement personnel should work in a coordinated way.

WRITTEN BY- MARIA LATIF TRUMBOO