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The world population has a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000 males
Sex ratio:
Japan 1041
USA 1029
Indonesia 1004
Bangladesh 953
China 944
India 933
India has one of the lowest sex ratios in the world
………………………………………………………….
On a national level the sex ratio in the age group 0-6 has declined drastically
1991: 945
2001: 927
Mumbai City has only 898 girls per 1000 boys in the age group 0-6 years.
India Maharashtra Mumbai
Girls age 6-12 attending school
76.5 89.5 91.9
Boys age 6-12 attending school
84.7 92.0 94.0
Institutional deliveries 50.7 52.6 85.3
Total fertility rate 3.39 2.52 2.13
Childhood mortality 67.6 44.0 24.5
Mumbai’s performance on other indicators is impressive
Why is the Sex ratio so
low?
A certain percent of under-enumeration of
girls is observed
However it cannot account for such large
differences
Childhood mortality among girls and female infanticide also lead to
skewed sex ratio
Mostly the low sex ratio in Mumbai is due to sex
selective abortions!
In Mumbai, 1986, before implementation of the PNDT act
7999 out of 8000 abortions carried out after sex determination tests were female foetuses. Feminist discourse on sex screening and selective abortion of female fetuses By Farhat Moazam, Bioethics, Volume 18 Issue 3June 2004
Abortion is the right of the woman and legalized in India under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act
However having an abortion based only on the gender of the foetus is illegal….
…..and a horrible form of gender discrimination
Evidence suggests that the PNDT act has not had the intended effect.
The declining sex ratio in the age group
0-6 exemplifies the failure of the PNDT
act.
This is supported by the sex ratio at birth:
131 boys per 100 girls
[Rapid household survey in Greater Mumbai]
17.3% women in Mumbai want more boys than girls, while only 2.8% want more girls than boys
There is almost no difference between the sex preference in Mumbai’s slum and non-slum areas.
The adverse sex ratio creates “shortage” of women and has severe long-term implications
……………………………………………………….
The ‘shortage’ of women does not lead to their increased value, but to greater restrictions and control placed over them.
There are reports of increasing numbers of women being trafficked and sold for marriage in Rajasthan and Gujarat
Would you like to see women achievers in the future?
Don’t deny the
girl child the right to be born.
Welcome her into your life.
Support
Make a difference!
Sources Status of Women in India. Advocacy Internet: Vol: 5: issue no.04 July-Aug.
2003. Published by NCAS.
The Shame of Mumbai. Declining Sex Ratio Is a Cause For Concern, Population First Newsletter, August Issue 15.08.2004
The practice of sex selective abortion in India: may you be the Mother of a hundred sons by Rita Patel M.D.
Abortion vs. selective conceiving. Heading towards an imbalanced society by Puneet Kaur. New Delhi. 07.04.2002. http://www.boloji.com/women/02725.htm
Women in India. How free? How equal? By Kalyani Menin-Sen and A K Shiva Kumar. United Nations Resident Coordinator. 2001.
Review of initiatives to combat child trafficking by members of the save the children alliance 2003
Doctors what about your duty? Indianest.com by Anjali Deshpande. 04.06.2002. http://www.boloji.com/wfs/wfs044.htm
Natioal Family Health Survey India 1998-99. NFHS-2 Maharashtra. International Institute for Population Issues.
Girl shortage causes wife buying in India. Futurepundit. 05.02.2003.
Feminist discourse on sex screening and selective abortion of female fetuses By Farhat Moazam, Bioethics, Volume 18 Issue 3June 2004
Prepared by Lone Søndergaard Population First