Female Foeticide - Reasons, Impact on Society & Effective Measure to Curb it

Source - DNA India

Female foeticide is the method of abortion to eliminate a female fetus from the womb of the mother before taking birth after the sex recognition tests like an ultrasound scan. 

Female foeticide and even any sex recognition test is unlawful in India. It is embarrassing for the parents who are despising the birth of a newborn girl as well as doctors performing the foeticide. 

Female foeticide has occurred in practice for periods particularly for families who are inclined toward the idea of  male child supremacy. Several religious, social, financial and emotional are extended as the rationale for female foeticide. 

 Consequently, the times have improved now, However, many reasons and hypotheses are persistent in some families that still endorse female foeticide. 

Reasons for female foeticide 

1. Generally, parents don’t wish for a girl baby because they have to give a big amount as a dowry at daughter’s marriage.

2. There is a belief that girls are constantly consumers and boys are mainly producers. Therefore, Parents comprehend that sons will earn money their entire life and care for their parents. On the other hand, girls will get married one day and will have a different family.

3. Having a born is considered a matter of prestige for the family, mainly for the parents and the grandparents. 

4. Illiteracy, insecurity, and deprivation of people in society are also crucial reasons for abortion.

5. There is a principle that the son will hold up the name of the family in future whereas, the girl has to carry the husband’s family name.

Impact of female foeticide on the sex ratio

The sex ratio indicates the probability of females to males in a particular region. Many procedures like female foeticide and female infanticide (killing a baby girl after her birth) have had an opposite influence on the sex ratio. Therefore, it increases and stimulates many social evils. 

As per the decennial Indian questionnaire, the sex ratio of India is 107.48. It means 107.48 fellows per 100 women in 2019. Consequently, India has 930 females per 1000 males. So, India gives birth to a 48.20% female population correlated to a 51.80% male population.

Effective measures to control female foeticide

As we all understand that female foeticide is a crime and social evil for the future of women. Hence, we should notice the factors for female foeticide in Indian society. Female infanticide or female feticide is predominantly because of sex determination. Here are some measures to curb this practice:

1.  Law must be enforced and one should be severely penalized if found culpable for this hostile action.

2. Permanent revocation of the medical practitioners license for having performed the surgery/ foeticide.

3. Marketing medical equipment precisely for unfair sex determination and abortion should be banned. 

4. Campaigns and conferences should be regularly held for generating awareness amongst couples and families. 

5. Women should be familiarized with their fundamental rights. 

Female foeticide is a suicide. So, save the girl child and ensure their future. Demography reports advise India that in the next twenty years there will be a deficiency of brides in the marriage demand primarily because of the adverse sex ratio due to the practice of female foeticide. 


Written By - Loveleen Tiwari 

Edited By - Tushna Choksey

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