‘Ma, I love you so much. I can feel your love, affection, care and warmth. In these few months I have known everything about you. Now, very soon I’ll have to start living on my own, I’ll have to breathe on my own. I’m a bit scared but I know I’ll do well because you are with me. I want to see the lovely things outside, the rising sun, the shining stars, the birds, trees, flowers; and your smile!’ These are the words of a little girl growing inside a mother’s womb while her family members are working out plans of how to get rid of her just because she is a girl child.
Everyone is going gaga over the industrial boom our country is having, the technological advancements & the globalization. But in spite of these, certain issues continue to haunt the future of our generation. They stand against our social growth and will prove to be highly dangerous in the coming years if left ignored & are not acted upon soon.
One of these is: Female foeticide. We being the weight bearers of the future as well as budding physicians must understand the gravity of the situation. It is our social and at the same time moral responsibility to address the problem and find a solution to it. Haryana’s infamous sex ratio isn’t just about numbers though they’re quite horrific- 861 females per 1,000 males as per the 2001 census- it’s also about their mindsets. This shows the still prevailing misconceptions and orthodox beliefs of the male child being a boon and female a curse. The would-be grandparents, father and even the mother, they are all partners in this heinous crime. Yes, crime it is! But more than that it is a sin. Every child that is born comes with a message that God still has faith in humanity and here we are destroying that message even before it is delivered.
Doctors are not far behind. They’re walking hand in hand with these criminals rather even leading them. Even though it is illegal, sex determination is being done on a large scale in most of the places. Our colleagues have devised their own ingenious codes of conveying the information. A doctor in Haryana uses the code of Monday & Friday for a boy or girl respectively i.e. if asked to collect the report on Monday, it is a boy and if on Friday, a girl. Another one has a slightly different modus operandi: red ink for girl, blue for boy. It’s a secret exchanged without any proof. There are many doctors who oblige and if someone doesn’t, we have middle men who do the job.
One of these is: Female foeticide. We being the weight bearers of the future as well as budding physicians must understand the gravity of the situation. It is our social and at the same time moral responsibility to address the problem and find a solution to it. Haryana’s infamous sex ratio isn’t just about numbers though they’re quite horrific- 861 females per 1,000 males as per the 2001 census- it’s also about their mindsets. This shows the still prevailing misconceptions and orthodox beliefs of the male child being a boon and female a curse. The would-be grandparents, father and even the mother, they are all partners in this heinous crime. Yes, crime it is! But more than that it is a sin. Every child that is born comes with a message that God still has faith in humanity and here we are destroying that message even before it is delivered.
Doctors are not far behind. They’re walking hand in hand with these criminals rather even leading them. Even though it is illegal, sex determination is being done on a large scale in most of the places. Our colleagues have devised their own ingenious codes of conveying the information. A doctor in Haryana uses the code of Monday & Friday for a boy or girl respectively i.e. if asked to collect the report on Monday, it is a boy and if on Friday, a girl. Another one has a slightly different modus operandi: red ink for girl, blue for boy. It’s a secret exchanged without any proof. There are many doctors who oblige and if someone doesn’t, we have middle men who do the job.
Recently there was a case somewhere in Punjab where a man killed his own 48 hours old daughter by hitting her on a rock several times till she died. All because he wanted a male child! And these are not just the illiterate, underprivileged population. This happens very much even in the educated, high-class, socially respectable families.
The problem doesn’t end here. Like a fission chain it continues. One of the many reasons of the exponential rise in population of our country is the want of a male child. And none of us need to be told the consequences of this population rise; starting from deficient resources it goes on to unemployment, corruption & even crimes. Another one is the dearth of brides. A problem which is a long term result of female foeticide but nevertheless very important. According to the statistics given in a leading newspaper 36.24% of men in Haryana between 15 and 44 years of age were tabulated as being unmarried in the 1991 census. And the number has just been increasing. The aftermaths are frightening. Because though they don’t want daughters, they want wives. Thus enters the bride bazaar. The bride price ranges from Rs. 4,000 to 30,000 and is determined by factors like age, virginity, skin colour and how many times she’s changed hands. How ignominious can one get!
The attitude of people is equally shameful. The concerned authorities prefer to brush it all under the carpet. And the practitioners of the so-called noble profession are ready to trade their morals and ethics for the sake of a few grands. It is high time we act upon it. There’s lots we can do. Let us start from our own home & neighborhood. And if not anything, at least let us pledge to never assist or even close eyes to such an abominable deed.
The problem doesn’t end here. Like a fission chain it continues. One of the many reasons of the exponential rise in population of our country is the want of a male child. And none of us need to be told the consequences of this population rise; starting from deficient resources it goes on to unemployment, corruption & even crimes. Another one is the dearth of brides. A problem which is a long term result of female foeticide but nevertheless very important. According to the statistics given in a leading newspaper 36.24% of men in Haryana between 15 and 44 years of age were tabulated as being unmarried in the 1991 census. And the number has just been increasing. The aftermaths are frightening. Because though they don’t want daughters, they want wives. Thus enters the bride bazaar. The bride price ranges from Rs. 4,000 to 30,000 and is determined by factors like age, virginity, skin colour and how many times she’s changed hands. How ignominious can one get!
The attitude of people is equally shameful. The concerned authorities prefer to brush it all under the carpet. And the practitioners of the so-called noble profession are ready to trade their morals and ethics for the sake of a few grands. It is high time we act upon it. There’s lots we can do. Let us start from our own home & neighborhood. And if not anything, at least let us pledge to never assist or even close eyes to such an abominable deed.
