FEMALE FOTICIDE

Female foeticide is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal method.The frequency of female foeticide in India is increasing day by day. The natural sex ratio is assumed to be between 103 and 107,and any number above it considered as suggestive of female foeticide. According to the decennial Indian census, sex ratio in the 0 to 6 age group in India has risen from 102.4 males per 100 females in 1961 to 102.4 males in 2001,to 108.9 in 2011.            

             The child sex ratio is within the normal natural range in all eastern and particularly north westeren states such as Maharashtra, Haryana, jammu and Kashmir [118,120,116 as of 2011 respectiviely]. The western states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan 2011 census found a child sex ratio of 113, Gujarat at 112 and Uttar Pradesh at 111.

                 The Indian census data suggests there is a positive correlation between abnormal sex ratio and better socio-economic status and literacy. This may be connected to the dowry system in India where dowry deaths occur when a girl is seen as an financial burden. Urban India has higher child sex ratio than rural India according to1991 , 2001 and 2011 census data, implying higher prevalence of female foeticide in urban India. Similarly child sex ratio is greater than 115 boys per 100 girls founds in regions where the predominant majority is Hindu, Muslim, sikh or Christian.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether these high sex ratio are only caused by female foeticide or some of the higher ratio is explained by natural causes. The Indian government has passed pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques act (PCPNDT) in 1994 to ban and punish parental sex screening and female foeticide. It is currently illegal to determine or disclose sex of the foetus to anyone. However, there are concerns that PCPNDT act has been poorly enforced by authorities.