Home > The Issue And What We Can Do
The Issue And What We Can Do
 The Issues

The child sex ratio is a powerful indicator of social health of any society. Calculated as number of girls per 1000 boys in the 0-6 years age group, the ratio has shown a sharp decline from 976 girls to 1000 boys in 1961 to 927 as per the 2001 census. In certain parts of the country, there are less than 800 girls for every 1000 boys.

The declining child sex ratio has its roots in the practice of sex selection or what is commonly understood as determining the sex of the unborn child or foetus and eliminating it if found to be a female. Sex selection has seen many faces and forms: from female infanticide to female foeticide and the technologically sophisticated pre-conceptional sex selection. The use of technology to determine the sex of the foetus and easy access to it since the early eighties has contributed to the rapid decline in the child sex ratio.
 Where is it Happening?

We see this practice prevalent right across the country. It is not limited to certain parts or regions though there are regional variations. According to the 2001 census, this ratio has declined to less than 900 girls per 1000 boys in States such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.

 Is it limited to the less Prosperous or Backward Regions?

No, this is a myth. The ratio stands at a mere 754 in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab - there are only 754 girls for every 1000 boys. Kurukshetra district of Haryana has 770, Ahmedabad 814, and South West district of Delhi 845 - even though these regions are amongst the most prosperous in the country. Mumbai too is down to 898.

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 What is the impact of sex selection?

The adverse child sex ratio can severely impact the delicate equilibrium of nature and destroy our moral and social fabric. Contrary to what many believe, lesser number of girls in a society will not enhance their status. Instead, this could lead to increased violence against women, rape, abduction, trafficking and onset of practices such as polyandry. In certain parts of the country, women are being 'bought' as brides too
Sex Selection or what is commonly understood as determing the sex of unborn child or foetus and eliminating it if found to be a female. The use of the technology to determine the sex of the foetus and easy access to it since the early eighties has contributed to the rapid decline in the child sex ratio.
 What about the law?

The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception. Its purpose is to prevent misuse of technologies such as ultrasound that enable testing the sex of a child before it is born. It is illegal to test the sex of the foetus for the purpose of eliminating the female. The law provides for an imprisonment, which may extend to three years and fine up to Rs. 10,000 for the first conviction. The law has its own place but has been hampered by difficulties in implementation and societal apathy.

 The Root Cause

Sex selection is not only about technology. At the heart of the matter is the low status of women in society and the deep-rooted prejudices they face right through their life. To get the complete picture, the issue also needs to be seen in the context of a patriarchal social framework and a value system based on 'son preference' - such as the son being responsible for the carrying forward the family name, support in old-age and for performing the last rites. Further, the practice of dowry and the tag of 'praya dhan' translate into daughters being considered an economic liability. Consequently, what we see is discrimination and neglect of the girl child, which could be in terms of inadequate nutrition, denial or limited access to education and health, child labour and domestic violence. At its worst, it translates into one of the most repugnant form of violence against women: sex selection.

 Portraying The Issue: The Creative Route

We see sex selection happening around us, yet we choose to remain silent. Just as we do when it comes to dowry, age at marriage and neglect of the girl child. Given the socio-cultural context and the deep-rooted prejudices outlined in the foregoing para, what is needed is a change in the collective consciousness. A change, which stirs our conscience into action. It has been argued that there is no better route for this than the field of arts, be it music, a 'nukkad natak', a verse, a 'ghazal', a painting or a film.

Why take this creative route? We believe that our efforts to create a mind-set change often fall short of the expectations because the importance of the human factor is ignored-the complex web of relationships and beliefs, values and motivations, which lie at the very heart of art and culture. The process of sensitizing through the medium of visual and performing arts will have a lasting impact, as it is not a mechanical process. The message comes from the heart and speaks the language of the soul.

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 Some Pointers For Artistes

Without impinging on artists right to creative freedom, a few pointers that could be taken into consideration while portraying the issue of sex selection are listed below :

Some Basic Facts :

  • The child sex ratio (0-6 years) that stood at 976 girls to 1000 boys in 1961 has declined to 927 girls to 1000 boys in 2001. The most dramatic decline has come in the decade 1991- 2001, from 945 down to 927.
  • In certain parts of the country, there are less than 8 girls for every 10 boys.
  • Prosperity is no guarantee and sex selection is happening across India, especially in some of the most prosperous parts of the country such as Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
  • Sex selection adversely impacts the delicate equilibrium of nature and destroys our moral and social fabric.

Sex Selection And Abortion :
In India, abortion is legal under certain conditions. However, abortion for the reason of sex selection is not. Accurate portrayal of this fact, and not implying that abortion per se is illegal, is important. Otherwise it could limit a women's rightful access to safe and legal abortion services.

 Myths And Misconceptions
  • Contrary to what many believe, lesser number of girls in a society will not enhance their status. Instead, in places where sex selection is rampant, there can be an increase in violence against women, rape, abduction, trafficking and onset of practices such as polyandry.
  • The notion that only couples with two or more daughters are going in for sex selection and therefore does not affect the overall child sex ratio is misleading. In fact, data indicates that even for the first-born, there is a preference for a male child. This trend is even more noticeable where the first-born is a girl. "Sex selection is not a solution to dowry - the system of dowry will continue as long as people look upon daughters as a liability. What is important is to address the root cause for the subordinate status of women in the society.
  • The thought that it is more humane to eliminate a female foetus than subjugate her to a life of discrimination is a fallacy. By the same logic, it would be justifiable to eliminate poor people than let them suffer a life of poverty and deprivation. The girl child is not the problem, the practice of sex selection is.
  • Another misleading notion is that banning sex selection amounts to denying a mother her unalienable right to choose the sex of her child. Choice in the absence of autonomy is no choice. Fears of violence and rejection/desertion and also the desire to establish one's value in the family often pressurise women into opting for sex selection.
  • The argument that sex selection is an effective tool for controlling population is misplaced. We want population stabilization for improving quality of life. This is the ultimate goal. If along the way we resort to things that damage our quality of life, is that desirable?
 Issues To Be Highlighted In The Creative Expression
  • Here and now issue
    It is vital that the seriousness of the issue is brought out. It is not something out there in the future. It is a 'here and now' issue and there has to be a sense of urgency in the creative expression. It would, therefore, be important to create an imagery of the issue that encourages immediate action."
  • Tradition and technology nexus
    Sex selection is a reflection of the low status of women in the society and a patriarchal mindset steeped in son preference. Easy access to technology has made the situation far worse. The need of the hour is to break through both. "
The thought that it is more humane to eliminate a female foetus than subjugate her to a life of discrimination is a fallacy. By the same logic, it would be justifiable to eliminate poor people than let them suffer a life of poverty and deprivation. The girl child is not the problem, the practice of sex selection is.
  • It contributes to violence
    Sex selection is probably the worst form of gender-based violence - it results in selective elimination of the female foetus.
  • Equality is the mantra
    Focus on the equality mantra - bring out how neglect and discrimination leads to an unequal status for the girl child.
  • Value the girl child
    Encourage equal value of the girl child and imply that she is not a liability.
  • Equal access to opportunity and resources
    Highlight efforts that are at the heart of the problem-equal access to education, health, employment and productive resources of land and property.
  • Mindset change
    Law alone will not work; what is needed is a mindset change. Depict how 'each one of us counts'.

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 Segmenting The Audience
  • It will be important to keep in mind the target audience while selecting the medium, the message and the approach to follow. A literate, urban audience would need the message packaged differently as against a rural, semi-literate one. The channels too may be different. The age group will matter, as will the context and the environment in which the message is being delivered. " It may be useful to remember that that sex selection is happening more in urban, prosperous and literate India.
  • Audience segmentation also needs to take into account the role played by different family members. This will help in appropriately nuancing the message. A message to a mother-in-law will be different from the one addressed to a mother-to-be.
 Communication Triggers
  • There are broadly two tracks that can be used to bring out the message - fear and guilt vs. rights/equality platform. Essentially, the latter approach focuses on love, care, warmth and other positive emotions such as pride. Each has its pros and cons.
  • Fear and guilt is a double-edged sword. While it could make somebody take momentary notice, its use beyond a point could lead to a total 'switch-off' and drive the target audience into an 'avoidance' mode. What might be useful is striking an emotional chord in the target audience and moving them to an action stage. Segmenting The Audience Communication Triggers Mindset change

    Possible buttons to push are of love, warmth and caring for girl child - using these expressions for a daughter and a sister could be more effective. This makes the issue a more personal one as it tugs at the heart.
  • Avoid a patronizing/preaching approach. For instance, 'We pledge to protect her' has a patronizing overtone as does 'Let her live...' and 'ladki hona dosh nahin, jurm nahin, paap nahin, usen khilne de.'
 Language
  • Avoid use of language that portrays girls as objects of pity and devalues them. Some of the communication says, 'Give girls a chance, they too can look after you' or 'mujhe maa ke garbh me kyon marte ho, kewal is liya ki main ladki hoon?' Therefore, avoid language that reinforces such stereotypes.
  • Similarly avoid use of cliches such as 'daughters as laxmi' or 'beti bojh nahin lathi hai.'
  • Refrain from using words such as foeticide, killing, murder, and genocide as this focuses attention on negative emotions of fear and violence thereby turning the audience away from the issue at hand.
  • It is best to avoid using the term 'sex selective abortion' as it confuses the issue by linking it to legal and safe abortion per se.
  • Avoid language that holds the mother responsible for sex selection. She has very little control over the decision.
  • Use language, which is simple, direct and appeals to the heart.
This village is full of bachelors. There are houses where only one of many brother is married. In this case, 4 brothers stay together, but only one of them is married. Bunta Singh managed to get married only 8 months back. His wife, Ramni is 1 month pregnant now. The elder and younger brother did not get married because men with smaller land holdings find it difficult to marry these days. Ramni's mother is dead and her father got remarried to a Bengali woman. He wanted to get Ramni married off even though he knew she would land up in a situation of polyandry.

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 Imagery
  • Avoid imagery that is gruesome or gory for instance foetus in a bottle or a dagger piercing a rosebud for the reason that a violent image will have the audience go into a switch-off mode.
  • Avoid imagery that reinforces gender inequality as in the case of some of the popular family based TV serials. Some of them continue to portray women as inferior and men in haloed terms.
  • Respect the female form. A grotesque or provocative portrayal of female anatomy while discussing sex selection could take the issue in a different direction. It also distracts from the message being communicated.
 Some Real Life Instances

Rohtak District, Haryana.
An old woman in a well-to-do house breaks her Navratra fast. Even as Goddess Laxmi looks on ironically from a painting on the wall, the woman ritually washes the feet not of a Kanjak Devi (girl-goddess) but of a young boy, as pre-puberty girls are hard to find...

Devra Village, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Three days of feasting mark the wedding of Jaswant Kanwar, the first girl among the Bhatti Rajputs to have survived to a marriageable age. Neighbouring families join in the celebrities, as the village receives a baraat after a gap of 110 years...

Dang District, Gujarat-Rajasthan border.
With the rise of a full moon, a young woman named Swarup performs a ritual fast on Karva Chauth. She prays for the long lives of eight brothers, all of whom she is married to...

Similarly avoid use of cliches such as 'daughters as laxmi' or 'beti bojh nahin lathi hai.'
 What You Can Do
  • How can you help? Be a change maker to transform the existing landscape of your society. Start by raising your concern on this issue in various public fora, write letters to the editor, be a part of the Resident Welfare Association, form a club with like-minded people, raise the issue at an existing clubs, at your workplace, religious and social gatherings, speak to your family members including your children and relatives, and in political and professional arenas to collectively generate public opinion on this critical issue of sex selection. The choices and options are limitless. Only then can societal apathy ends. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see".
  • Adopt a zero tolerance for sex selection. If you know of anyone indulging in it, report to appropriate authorities. Your vigilance will help save many lives and send out a strong message to those who err.
Rita is 17 years old. She was brought from a village near the Bihar-Bengal border. Rita lost her mother and was brought up by her grandparents who sold her to an agent (who brought her to Haryana). Rita has been back to her village to get brides for other boys in her husband's family. Her husband is eldest of four brothers and he is putting pressure on her to get very young girls for his younger brothers.
  • Value your daughter. Each one of us can change our immediate environment by treating our daughters equal to our sons. If each of us looks at the girl child with a changed mindset it will break the prevailing social apathy.
  • Changing mindsets includes the attitudes and thinking processes for both girls and boys. Girls need, and should expect, equal access to education, nutrition, health, employment and productive resources. Boys and men should perceive girls not as subservient beings but as empowered individuals who are equal partners.

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