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 Female infanticide and foeticide
Mukam pArththu un maDi sukham kANumun
nelmaNi koDuththu mUchchaDaikka
thuDikka vaiththu, iDukATTil
thUngavaiththAyE, IramillA
Ina nenjA enai InRavaLukku?
These poignant lines in Thamizh were penned by
Latha Giridhar
as part of a poem to express the muted anguish of the newborn female child who was yearning for the sweet sight and embrace of her mother once coming out of the womb but suddenly made to lose her life by her own mother (by feeding the infant whole grain paddy mixed in milk and puncturing the windpipe of the tiny infant and thereby causing her death).
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| The “silent” scream of the fetus |
India has the notoriety of having one of the lowest female to male child ratio (in the age group of zero to six years) in the world. On December 15, 2006, UNICEF issued a report which said 7000 fewer girls are born each day in India than population models project because of abortions based on sex selection. It is a case of female foeticide aided by ultrasonic diagnostics. In addition, there are unknown numbers of female infants being deliberately killed by their mothers and/or her close relatives. WHY? Haven’t we all read or recited the cute verse, “What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of”? Perhaps not, when it comes to those who commit such atrocities. Are those who commit female infanticide and foeticide, heartless monsters? If they are committing such a heinous crime, although reluctantly, is it due to the fact that society is imposing a constraint on them?
Why is it happening?
It is somewhat interesting to note that in days of yore, dEvadAsis used to celebrate the birth of a female child. That ensured the continuance of their chosen profession of serving the temple and the arts through generations. Along the way that sacred tradition of the dEvadAsis got tangled up with the lustful exploitation by a few ignoble souls and the profession got a bad reputation. Hindu religion glorifies the mother through the devotional songs addressed to goddess Parvati, the mother of the universe, seeking her blessings. Why then her human equivalents are not accorded the same respect and care — especially the tiny ones?
One of the principal reasons has to do with dowry that needs to be given when the girl child grows up and is given in marriage. Raising young girls is considered a liability. This practice stems from ignorance and illiteracy that pervades the community which resorts to female infanticide and foeticide. The female child is being held at a sub-par value compared to a male child. The gender bias is also related to the fact that male children are called upon to work in the fields and provide income to support the family in poor rural families while the female child is considered incapable of such activity although that trend is changing now.
It is estimated that some 10 million girls were lost in India over the last 20 years. The national average gender ratio (female to male) has gone down from 972 in 1901 to 933 in 2001. The number is a lot lower (as low as 500-700) in some selected areas of various states.
Subramanya Bharathi wrote,
“ANum peNNum nigarenak koLvadhAl aRivil Ongi ivvaiyam thazhaikkumAm” (by treating men and women equal the whole world will prosper). He also wrote,
“vaRpuRuththip peNNaik kaTTikkoDukkum vazhakkaththaith thaLLi midhiththiDuvOm” (let us get rid of the practice of getting our daughters married by force to anyone) and
“eTTum aRivinil ANukkingE peN iLaippillai kANenRu kummiyaDi” (let us celebrate the fact that in mental caliber the woman isn’t deficient when compared to the man). Did Bharathi fight for the empowerment of women in vain? Why are we treating the female child as undervalued and unwanted?
Religion and history:
It appears the practice of female infanticide has some roots in the Vedas. The earliest war tribes had little use for women. The preference for male offspring was obvious. There are statements like, “Let a female child be born somewhere else; here, let a male child be born” (Atharva Veda V1.2.3). Child marriage of girls as young as 5-6 years was common as late as 100 years ago. The Hindu code book Manu (IX.94) declared, “A man, aged thirty years shall marry a maiden of twelve who pleases him …”. While this was intended to protect the abuse of unmarried adult women it also bred subjugation in a different sense. The Manu code (IX.72) also required young girls to retain their virginity but did not stipulate that for young men. The code states, “Though (a man) may have accepted a damsel in due form, he may abandon (her if she be) blemished, diseased, or deflowered, and (if she have been) given with fraud”. Such girls were then condemned by society. This background did not forebode well for future generations of women.
The British tried to undo some of this injustice to women in the native population by enacting certain laws. The Sati Abolition Act (1829), Widow Remarriage Act (1856), and Raising the Age of Consent Act (1891) were some well-intentioned efforts to prevent discrimination against women. They also launched a fierce campaign against female infanticide. However, most conservative Hindus opposed those measures. While laws are necessary to prevent abuse they are not sufficient if society ignores them.
What is being done now?
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| Cradle
Babies |
There are currently laws in the books of the country which prohibit female infanticide and foeticide. But laws which cannot be strictly enforced are useless. There is a saying, “Many laws are not quite useful. They are not needed by honest citizens and not heeded by dishonest ones”. But the laws must be enforced vigorously and a few people have to be prosecuted for violation so that there is no temptation for others to break the law.
The Thamizh Nadu government has set up a “Cradle Baby” programme whereby the parents who consider their female infant to be a liability can bring them to government reception centres and leave their babies there for caring and eventual adoption. It appears this programme is succeeding.
Several state governments have offered financial incentives to parents to prevent female infanticide. They offer payments for each female child in instalments until the girl finishes schooling. In addition a lump sum is paid to defray the cost of higher education or as dowry if marriage is imminent (the irony here is offering or receiving dowry is illegal but if the government offers that incentive to prevent the genocide it is the lesser of the two evils). Several thousands of families in Thamizh Nadu have enrolled in the
programme.
There are also active programmes conducted by NGOs and SHGs (Self help Groups) to educate the public and assist them to get out of the evil practice. One laudable effort (The Hindu, October 28, 2006) is a supermarket run by an SHG called ‘Prosperity’ in Usilampatti (a hotbed of infanticide activity) to help female children. The members of the group drafted a will ceding their share and earnings from the supermarket to their granddaughters. This measure will make sure these female children will not be a liability to their parents. Such SHGs must sprout and flourish.
The future:
Still there remains a lot to be done. Mass education of the public through government representatives and social workers is the key to success in preventing this genocide. Public service messages may get stale in due course but they must be broadcast repeatedly in various flavours. Adoption rules have to be liberalised so that people from within India as also western countries can adopt these babies (meant for extinction) with ease and give them the care they need. The stipend programme for female children should be strengthened. Every girl who goes on to do higher studies will breed further success of the programme in the community. The late Kalki Krishnamurthy suggested that property rights should accrue to female children on equal basis with male children. It is interesting that the state of Kerala, which has a matriarchal hierarchical society (wealth transfers from mother to daughter), has the highest gender ratio in the country and female infanticide is virtually unknown there. Since most villagers have access to a public recreation centre with television, mass media messages will drive home the point better if popular movie stars and the television studios join in a partnership to deliver the messages. Philanthropic foundations should come forward and carry the banner. Perhaps the next MS (Subbalakshmi), Sarojini Naidu, Marie Curie, or Indra Gandhi might spring from one of those female infants saved!
Note to readers:
I write this article (after reading the poem mentioned at the outset) with so much agony welling up in my heart. The very thought that so many infants who cannot do anything but cry just before their lives are extinguished so cruelly either in the womb or soon after they are born should put every thinking human being to shame. Let us cast the emotion aside. On a rational basis, every concerned citizen has to resort to whatever they can do to put an end to this calamity in our generation right now. This cruelty cannot continue any more. It is genocide, one life at a time, all the time in various places. Every single effort in whatever way possible to eliminate this cultural blemish is worth it. A life saved is a life created!
Sethuraman Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
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