Female foeticide, or the killing of female fetuses, is a major issue in India. It is driven by social preferences for sons over daughters and enabled by technology like ultrasounds. This has led to unnatural increases in the male to female sex ratio, with 108.8 males for every 100 females according to the 2011 census. The government has tried to address this through acts banning sex-selective abortions, but enforcement has been a challenge due to social attitudes.

1. FEMALE
FOETICIDE
IN INDIA.
- Dr. Vandana V.

2. What is Foeticide?
The term FOETICIDE means killing
the FOETUS in the mother’s womb.
This practice is mostly confined to
female gender and female foeticide is
the major topic of concern in today’s
society, especially in developing
countries like India.

3. Incidence
• The country which stands first Afghanistan.
• Followed subsequently by Congo, Pakistan.
• India ranked 4th most dangerous place for
women primarily due to female foeticide.
• The country with least female foeticides is
Namibia in Africa.

4. Social causes of female foeticide
• Money: girls are considered a financial obligation
• Poverty
• Lack of proper education
• Future speculations : marriage, dowry
• Mindset: age old traditional practices
• Obsession for son
• Gender discrimination
• Female is considered as greater responsibility
than a male mainly due to security issues

5. Statistical data
• The natural male:female ratio was estimated,
in a 2002 study(BMJ, NCBI/National Institute
of Health), to be between 103 to 107 males to
100 females.

6. 2011 Census
Sex Ratio map
for the states
and union
territories of
India, boys per
100 girls in 0-1
years age
group.
Final
Population-
2011 Census of
India, Ministry
of Home
Affairs, Govt.
of India(2013).

7. According to the decennial Indian census:
YEAR MALE FEMALE
1961 102.4 100
1981 104.1 100
2001 107.1 100
2011 108.8 100
REF - India at glance: population census 2011

8. • Female foeticide in India has been reported
an increase since 1990 assumed to be due to
Ultrasound technology
• Usage of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool was
started in 1979; it spread to major cities in
1980; Spread to urban cities in India by 1990
and to rural areas by 2000.

9. • The child sex ratio has dropped from 945
females per 1000 males in 1991,to 927 females
per 1000 males in 2001
• Estimated that 50 million girls and women are
missing from Indian population because of
female feoticide
REF: Child Sex Ratio in India; C. Chandramouli, Registrar, General & Census
Commissioner, India (2011)

10. Cause for the increase in child sex ratio:
• Advancement in medical diagnostic techniques
has helped parents to detect and determine the
sex of the foetus before birth, and take the
heinous decision of sex-selective abortion.

11. Consequences
• Decrease in female population
• Adverse effect on women’s health mentally,
emotionally and physically
• Women are abused and sexually exploited
• Leads in women trafficking
• Women are kidnapped, bought and sold for
marriage
• Suicide rates in women will increase

12. Legislation
IN 2004, THE GOVT. OF INDIA
PASSED THE PRE-
CONCEPTIONAL AND PRE-
NATAL DIAGNOSTIC
TECHNIQUES (REGULATION
AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE)
“PCPNDT” ACT.

13. • In 2001 the ratio was 107.1:100;
• Govt. of India passed the PCPNDT Act to
decrease the female foeticide rate but
• Surprisingly ratio was increased by 2011
108.8:100
• The Public Health Foundation of India, in its 2010
report, claimed a lack of awareness about the
PCPNDT Act in parts of India, inactive role of the
appropriate authorities, role of some clinics and
medical practitioners in disregarding the law.

14. • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of
India has targeted education and media
advertisements to reach clinics and medical
professionals to increase awareness.
• The govt. is also supporting implementation of
programs and initiatives that seek to reduce
gender discrimination, including media
campaign to address the underlying social
causes of sex selection.

15. • The Indian Medical Association has
undertaken efforts to prevent prenatal sex
selection by giving its members the Beti
Bachao (save the daughter) badges during its
meetings and conferences.
• In its communication campaigns, it is clearing
up public misconceptions by emphasising that
sex determination is illegal, but abortion is
legal for certain medical conditions in India.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PCPNDT ACT IN INDIA – Perspectives and challenges. Public
health foundation of India, supported by united nations FPA (2010)
MTP and PCPNDT Initiatives report-Govt. of India (2011)

16. • The recent policy initiatives in India adopted
by many states attempt to address that the
assumed economic disadvantage of girls by
offering support to girls and their parents.
These policies offer conditional cash transfer
and scholarships only available for girls, for
each stage of their life right from birth,
completion of childhood immunizaton,
schooling from grade 1 to grade 12, and
marriage at the age of 21.

17. A recent study by Nandi and Deolalikar (2013)
states that the 1994 PNDT Act has had an
impact by preventing 1,06,000 female
foeticides over one decade.

18. Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao Scheme
• The Govt. of India has launched the BETI
BACHAO, BETI PADHAO Scheme recently
on 22nd January, 2015, mainly aiming at
generating awareness and improving efficiency
of delivery of welfare services for women. The
govt. proposed Rs. 150 crores to be spent by
the Ministry of Home Affairs on this scheme to
increase the safety of women in large cities.

20. International Day of the
Girl Child
• It is an international observance day declared by the
U.N.
• Otherwise called “Day Of The Girl”
• OCTOBER 11, 2011 (1st Day Of The Girl)
• This day supports more opportunity for girls and
increases awareness of gender-inequality faced by
girls world-wide.

21. Day of the Girl - Themes
• 2012 –Ending Child Marriage
• 2013 –Innovating for Girls’ Education
• 2014 –Empowering adolescent girls: Ending
the cycle of violence.

22. Responsibility of the society
• People should step up with the help of education
and should be able to overcome the age-old
traditional taboos which depict women as a
burden.
• People should stand against illegal practices
towards women like Dowry, Rape.
• Women should stop considering themselves to be
the inferior group of the society and should
learn to stand up for themselves, thus uplifting
their standards.

23. Our Responsibility
• The government and society should be
provided with a piece of professional support
which would complete the entire effort.
• Hereby, let us take a pledge that We, being
Doctors, would never try to disregard the laws
and would provide our sincere most
contribution in protecting and empowering the
girl child.