WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 40-Page 2013
Report:
India - Ramification of Male Sex Preference: Case Study in Punjab
PREFACE
The women’s studies
perspective accepts its implicit social responsibility to influence other
disciplines to include its perspective to increase women’s visibility in
teaching, research and management in universities and colleges by enhancing
their academic strength and competence. The Women’s Studies
Centre of India's Punjabi University has the main
objective, the pursuit of a comprehensive, critical and balanced
investigation of the cause of gender disparity. It also aims at revitalizing
university education and bringing it closer to the critical social issues and
exploring workable solutions. International security and stability rest in a
large measure on the internal security of nations. The list of examined factors
such as arms transfers and ethnic violence, now includes variables that were
not traditionally viewed as related to national security. Unemployment rates,
water tables and river flows, infant mortality, migration patterns, infectious
disease epidemiology, and a whole host of other variables that tap into the
general stability of a society are now understood to affect security. One
overlooked wellspring of insecurity is exaggerated gender inequality. Security
scholarship is theoretically and empirically impoverished to the extent
that it fails to enquire into the relationship between violence against women
and violence within and between societies. Admittedly, there is probably no
society in which women do not experience some gender inequality, subordinate
status or inferior treatment in political, legal, social, or economic matters.
The exaggerated gender inequality, when because of gender, one child is allowed
to live while another is actively or passively killed, is hard to miss.
Offspring sex selection, almost universally used to favor male offspring,
indicates that the life of a female in the society is not only not valued but
actually despised. There can be no greater evidence of the extremely unequal
and subordinate status of women in a society than the presence of prevalent
offspring sex selection therein. The phenomenon of son-preference and gender
discrimination is not only confined to India, but there have been instances of
millions of gender-selective deaths throughout the history world especially in
Asia. With the development and growing vailability of pre- natal screening
techniques the medical use becomes medical abuse and it opens new dimensions to
this problem.
The sex ratio in India has
been historically unfavorable to females. In 1901, the Indian general sex ratio
was 972. It declined steadily in the decades from 1901 to 1971 with a
negligible increase of only one point in 1951. It improved marginally to 934 in
1981 from 930 in 1971. In 1991, there was again a decrease in the sex ratio and
it recorded 927 females per thousand males. However, a marginal increase of 6
females (933) was recorded in the year 2001. There is further improvement in
the general sex ratio with 940 females in 2011 which is a marginal change.
However, at 940 females to 1000 males, it still continues to be significantly
adverse to women. The intensity of the sex ratio imbalance in the 0-6 age group
is most striking. The child sex ratio in the country has witnessed a decline
with more preference being given to the male child in all the States and Union
Territories of the country. The child sex ratio in India has declined
consistently since 1961 to touch a new low of 914 in the year 2011. As per
global trends, the normal child sex ratio should be above 950. The girl child
faces a grave risk as per the findings of the census 2011. The sex ratio in
Punjab has remained unfavorable to females. It has declined from 832 in 1901 to
780 in 1911. During 1991-2001 there was a clip in the sex ratio by 6 points. As
per 2011 census, Punjab has sex ratio of 893 which is 17 points higher than
that of 2001 census. The national ranking of Punjab in terms of sex ratio now
is 27th. Punjab has recorded an increasing
trend but still remained at the bottom of the list. In the 1961 Census, child
sex ratio in Punjab stood at 888. It rose to 899 in 1971 and further to 908 in
1981. Sharp fall in child sex ratio was recorded in 1991 at 875 female per 1000
males and then to 798 in 2001. In the 2011 census, Punjab has recorded child
sex ratio of 846 reflecting an increase of 48 points over that of 2001 census.
In the 2011 Census, all the districts have a child sex ratio of more than 822.
The only exception is Tarntaran where Child Sex Ratio is 819. Eliminating girl
child, whether before or after birth, is a part of pattern of violence that is
linked to development paradigms that develop women's status. But in Indian
society, women drive value and status only as mother of their sons. There is an
impression that husbands and their parents are pushing their wives and
daughter-in laws to go for prenatal sex determination tests and abortions.
Dowry is one reason which contributes to put the girl child at the second
place. In India, welfare measures like empowerment of women, reservation in
Parliament, free education to girl child and lot of women progressive initiatives
do not make sense when one looks at the cases of sex selective abortions.
Inspite of schooling among girls in recent decades, the patriarchal social
structure survives. This has come out as a shocking revelation of the census
and shows many Indians still are not accepting a girl child with open hands,
inspite of high economic growth and better literacy and globalized environment
of money, attitudes and culture. This calls for a good look at gender issues in
all their ramifications in our increasingly dysfunctional society. The aim of
the present study is to analyse the reasons why the proportion of baby girls is
declining in Punjab by analysing various aspects of sex preference society in
Punjab vis-à-vis India. The study shall attempt to venture into the causes and
consequences of declining sex ratio apart from reviewing the intervention steps
taken by the Government. After analysing the views from the respondents from
both the sexes and across three age groups, the study would intend to recommend
some remedial measures to eliminate this menace.
Dr. Manju Verma, Director
Women's Studies
Centre - Punjabi University, Patiala