In the streets of India one finds increasingly fewer little girls. You can look in classrooms, streets, and homes to notice that the number of female children is in fact, diminishing. Although a female minority is not a new thing in India, the percentage of women to men has declined steeply. Radhika Balakrishnan reports that national censuses show the sex ratio went from 972 women for every 1000 men in the year 1901 to 936 women for every 1000 men in the year 1981. This number continued to decline to 927 per 1000 in 1991. It is not that female babies are less frequently conceived or more susceptible to disease, but rather that they are killed upon birth, or in some cases not born at all. Modern ultrasonic technology and mobility of the machines that are used to perform ultrasounds have made sex screening a regular practice in India. That availability, in combination with the traditional patriarchal preference for male children, has caused the trend of mass female feticide. Balakrishnan says that from June 1976 to June 1977 one hospital recorded 700 prenatal sex determinations, of which 250 were male and 450 were female. 430 of the female fetuses were aborted, whereas all the males were kept.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, or the MTP, made abortion legal in India, but many laws have since been passed in attempts to limit and punish unauthorized procedures. These, however, are hard to enforce. Unrecognized clinics and private practitioners perform illegal abortions for a nice profit for those who are unable to travel to certified centers. These illegal abortions are often fatal for the mother as well. A 1994 study attributed 20 percent of the maternal deaths from septic abortions to unsafe abortions. The article "Missing Sisters" raises the point that these practices continue to thrive with promotional slogans such as "Pay 500 rupees now and save 50,000 later." The 50,000 rupees refers to the dowries that are traditionally paid by the bride's family to that of the groom. It has been estimated that there are some 11.2 million abortions per year, of which 6.7 million are induced. In rural areas there are 3 illegal abortions for every legal one, and in urban locations that number can be as high as 5. The large number of abortions is reflected in the ratio of girl children to boy children. Although the national girl-boy ratio is 927:1000, it can be as low as 796:1000 in some states.
People commonly ask what someone's stance on abortion is. In itself the question is hard to address. There are always so many different situations that need to be taken into account and it is not a very pleasant topic to begin with. It is not as if anyone is ever going to answer with great conviction, "Yes, I am for it. I like it and I think that it is a great thing for society and a proper method of birth control." Instead, the views usually range from, "Well, I don't like the idea of it, but I can sympathize with patients who turn to it and find it perfectly acceptable," to, "NO! It is wrong and there are no exceptions!" I have always considered myself to be on the pro-choice side of the argument with the opinion that every woman has the right to do what she wants to her body. But in this special situation I feel infuriated that female fetuses are singled out and aborted. I now feel very hypocritical. On one hand, I am writing about how a woman should have the right to choose, but yet I find myself wanting to prevent this blatant sexism from occurring. I believe that if a woman wants to have the abortion it should be because she does not want the child , not what the child could be . I feel that the option of abortion cannot be made available after a sexual determination test, but this can't happen without taking away a woman's right to choose. Why would a woman choose to have an abortion based solely on the fact that the child is a girl? This is once again a product of the overly patriarchal society that imprints the message women are inferior onto the minds of young women and men. They then think that they are inferior and so continue the cycle. We must think of ways to prevent female feticide without removing the right to choose.
One of the main reasons there is such a high rate of female fetus abortion is the unreasonably high dowry that the bride's family has to pay to the groom's in India. It is seen as an economic value for the mother to have the procedure rather than have the baby and have to pay two to three years' earnings away to a family that sometimes is never seen again. One way that this pressure could be eased is if there was some foundation that helped supply money for dowries. This idea is not perfect because it still implies that dowries are necessary. The practice of dowries is rooted in the social tradition and would be hard to remove. This aid for dowries would not end the process, but would give some hope that having a girl would not be an economic disaster for the family. This would facilitate a traditional feeling while allowing the system to be revolutionized and dowry prices to drop to reasonable levels.
Another method would be an adoption service. It would allow several infant girls to have the opportunity of living that they would have otherwise been denied and for families that would have otherwise been subjected to financial strain to protect their family in a more agreeable fashion. This foundation could operate by contacting families that are more financially stable. These families can be contacted through international organizations or local ones. If the family was from the Indian subcontinent the infant girls would not only be given the opportunity to live, but also to grow up in world where they will not need to be forever dependent on a husband or a father for support.
For long term prevention, there must be an educational program for both women and men within the country itself on the equality of the sexes. This would prevent the problem by changing the mental association of a baby girl from a future dowry problem to a potential scientist or politician. In order for this social change to occur the public of India must be enlightened about the potential that women have. They can learn about how many intelligent women have radically changed the society through scientific advancements, that women can own and run businesses just as effectively as men, and that female politicians are just as strong as their male counterparts. By providing proof that women are as mentally capable as men, the public will perhaps reevaluate their position on the matter and vote to make a difference. The change in law is not simply enough, though. There has to be an initiative to carry the laws out and enforce them. The Hindu reports that there are currently laws that are designed to punish illegal abortions and their providing clinics, but they are not carried out on both a national and local level. Not just the politically elite must be educated on the matter, but the everyday person as well. To change a social norm one must start with mass reeducation. The only problem with this is a large portion of the population in India does not attend school. The issue then is how does one change a social norm if they are unable to directly affect the minds of the individuals?
It seems that there is no effective solution to this problem. Enforcing harsher laws and punishments would only drive the number of illegal abortions up. Because this number is directly proportional to the number of maternal deaths, we would see more harm done to the overall population. Is there no hope for the future? Although there is no clear answer to this problem, we must not say that this cause is hopeless. The process of reform has already begun. We are in the first stage: recognition.
Note: The resources I used in writing this essay are:"Missing Sisters." The Economist , Volume 367, Number 8320, April 19 th - 25 th 2003, p. 36."RS Passes Bill to Check Female Foeticide." The Hindu , July 18, 2002 www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/07/18/stories/2002071802091300.htm .Radhika Balakrishnan, "The Social Context of Sex Selection and the Politics of Abortion in India." Power and Decision: the Social Control of Reproduction , Cambridge: Harvard School of Public Health , 1994), pp. 267-286, found through www.hsph.harvard.edu/rt21/medicalization/BALAKRISHNANSocial_Context.html .
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