Abortion of female fetuses a 'national shame,' Indian leader says By Amelia Gentleman, The New York Times
NEW DELHI — The Indian prime minister said Monday that the practice of aborting female fetuses was a "national shame" and called for stricter enforcement of laws designed to prevent doctors from helping parents get rid of unborn daughters.
In his first speech on the subject, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighted an "alarming" decline in the number of girls for every 1,000 boys in India, slipping to 927 in 2001 from 962 in 1981. "This indicates that growing economic prosperity and education levels have not led to a corresponding mitigation in this acute problem," Singh said.
"No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women," the prime minister said
Singh made the comments in the opening speech for a national conference dedicated to "saving the girl child" that brought together politicians, doctors and advocacy groups.
Describing female abortion as "inhuman, uncivilized and reprehensible," Singh said the government had a responsibility to crack down on the large numbers of Indian doctors who illegally revealed the sex of unborn children to parents and then arrange abortions to get rid of unwanted girls.
Over the past three decades, the increasing availability of ultrasound equipment has assisted India's cultural preference for sons and distorted the sex ratio across the nation. As the equipment has become more affordable, specialist ultrasound clinics have opened even in the most impoverished parts of the country, where other health care facilities remain rudimentary.
Before undergoing an ultrasound test in India, a pregnant woman has to sign a form agreeing not to try to discover the sex of the child. Doctors who reveal that information during an examination can be imprisoned for up to five years, but the law is widely flouted.
Studies have suggested that doctors often give coded hints to parents - by remarking, for example, "Your child will be a fighter," or by offering pink or blue sweets as the patient leaves.
Because parents are still expected to give large dowries when their daughters wed, girls are widely regarded as financial liabilities who will leave their parents large debts when they marry.
"The patriarchal mindset and preference for male children is compounded by unethical conduct on the part of some medical practitioners," Singh said, "assisted by unscrupulous parents, who illegally offer sex determination services."
The British medical journal The Lancet estimated in 2006 that as many as 10 million female fetuses had been aborted in India over the previous 20 years by families trying to secure male heirs.
An analysis of the Indian census conducted by Unicef echoed those findings and noted that the imbalance in the sex ratio had become particularly acute in India's wealthier regions, where money did little to temper the traditional Indian preference for sons, and where couples were easily able to afford ultrasound tests to establish the sex of the fetus.
Puneet Bedi, a doctor who campaigns against sex selection, said he was disappointed by Singh's speech. "It is not enough for him to preach to us about the problem," Bedi said. "The current laws are not enforced. It is the government's responsibility to take action."
Sabhu George, a long-term campaigner against female feticide, said that for the prime minister to devote a whole speech to the subject marked an important milestone, but agreed that the speech was "very disappointing."
"We have a very good law but it is not being implemented," George said. "He talked about changing mindsets. He should have focused on how the law could be implemented."
In his first speech on the subject, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighted an "alarming" decline in the number of girls for every 1,000 boys in India, slipping to 927 in 2001 from 962 in 1981. "This indicates that growing economic prosperity and education levels have not led to a corresponding mitigation in this acute problem," Singh said.
"No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women," the prime minister said
Singh made the comments in the opening speech for a national conference dedicated to "saving the girl child" that brought together politicians, doctors and advocacy groups.
Describing female abortion as "inhuman, uncivilized and reprehensible," Singh said the government had a responsibility to crack down on the large numbers of Indian doctors who illegally revealed the sex of unborn children to parents and then arrange abortions to get rid of unwanted girls.
Over the past three decades, the increasing availability of ultrasound equipment has assisted India's cultural preference for sons and distorted the sex ratio across the nation. As the equipment has become more affordable, specialist ultrasound clinics have opened even in the most impoverished parts of the country, where other health care facilities remain rudimentary.
Before undergoing an ultrasound test in India, a pregnant woman has to sign a form agreeing not to try to discover the sex of the child. Doctors who reveal that information during an examination can be imprisoned for up to five years, but the law is widely flouted.
Studies have suggested that doctors often give coded hints to parents - by remarking, for example, "Your child will be a fighter," or by offering pink or blue sweets as the patient leaves.
Because parents are still expected to give large dowries when their daughters wed, girls are widely regarded as financial liabilities who will leave their parents large debts when they marry.
"The patriarchal mindset and preference for male children is compounded by unethical conduct on the part of some medical practitioners," Singh said, "assisted by unscrupulous parents, who illegally offer sex determination services."
The British medical journal The Lancet estimated in 2006 that as many as 10 million female fetuses had been aborted in India over the previous 20 years by families trying to secure male heirs.
An analysis of the Indian census conducted by Unicef echoed those findings and noted that the imbalance in the sex ratio had become particularly acute in India's wealthier regions, where money did little to temper the traditional Indian preference for sons, and where couples were easily able to afford ultrasound tests to establish the sex of the fetus.
Puneet Bedi, a doctor who campaigns against sex selection, said he was disappointed by Singh's speech. "It is not enough for him to preach to us about the problem," Bedi said. "The current laws are not enforced. It is the government's responsibility to take action."
Sabhu George, a long-term campaigner against female feticide, said that for the prime minister to devote a whole speech to the subject marked an important milestone, but agreed that the speech was "very disappointing."
"We have a very good law but it is not being implemented," George said. "He talked about changing mindsets. He should have focused on how the law could be implemented."
No comments:
Post a Comment