Addressing a national meet ‘Save the Girl Child’, in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said no nation, society or community could hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilised world if it condoned the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity

Manmohan Singh has finally chosen to speak as the “proud father of three daughters” rather than as the prime minister seeking to stir the nation’s conscience on the bias against girls and women prevalent in Indian society.

The prime minister has described the widespread practice of aborting female foetuses as a “national shame” and called for societal action and stricter enforcement of laws against sex determination and female foeticide.

“Action must begin at home, in our families, in our communities,” Singh said. “I do not say this as the prime minister of India. I say this as the proud father of three daughters. I wish for every girl in our country what I wish for my own daughters,” he said.

Addressing a national meet ‘Save the Girl Child’, in New Delhi, Singh said no nation, society or community could hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilised world if it condoned the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity.

The meeting, organised by the health ministry, reviewed states’ implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act that bans sex selection and prenatal sex determination.

Health officials estimate that around 2,000 female foetuses are aborted every day in India after parents, colluding with unscrupulous doctors, learn about the sex of the foetus. The British medical journal The Lancet recently reported that up to 500,000 female foetuses are aborted every year in the country.

India’s child sex ratio dropped from 945 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 to 927 girls in 2001. In some of the richer states, the ratio has dropped to the 800s and 700s. As the 2001 census figures illustrate, the problem is most acute in some of the richer states of the country -- Punjab with 798, Haryana with 819, Delhi 868 and Gujarat 883 girls per 1,000 boys.

“This indicates that our growing economic prosperity and education levels have not led to a corresponding mitigation of the problem,” Singh said, adding: “We are an ancient civilisation and we call ourselves a modern nation. And yet, we live with the ignominy of an adverse gender balance due to social discrimination against women.”

“We need to strengthen legislative enforcement, basic healthcare and nutrition and re-orient national literacy and school education to give greater focus to women and girl-children,” Singh said. “We need to mobilise leaders of civil society, particularly religious leaders, for a nationwide campaign to end all types of discrimination against women built into our societal structures.”

Although sting operations by NGOs and government authorities over the past three years have helped build cases against more than 400 clinics and doctors involved in sex determination tests, health officials admit that the rate of conviction is “dismal”. Only around 20 doctors or institutions have been convicted or penalised so far, says Pravir Krishn, joint secretary in the health ministry.

Minister of Health Anbumani Ramadoss said his ministry has proposed amendments to the existing Act designed to improve the rate of conviction. Under one of the proposed amendments, likely to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament this year, district magistrates, instead of chief medical officers, will be authorised to investigate and build cases against clinics or doctors found violating the Act.

Health officials are hoping district magistrates will be able to build tighter and stronger cases against violators than medical officers who are themselves doctors.

Another proposed amendment will allow only gynaecologists, obstetricians and radiologists with appropriate training to conduct ultrasound imaging -- the technology being abused for sex determination of foetuses.

Health officials have said there is evidence that some medical practitioners, even technicians, have “overnight” changed their discipline to fulfil the demand for sex determination.

Source: The Telegraph, April 29, 2008
             The Indian Express, April 29, 2008
            Hindustan Times, April 29, 2008