Selective Abortion Of Female Fetuses In India Creating Gender Essay

Selective Abortion Of Female Fetuses In India Creating Gender Imbalance Crisis - Essay Example Indian activists estimate that as many as 8 million unborn females were aborted over the past decade due to pressurization of mothers to produce only boys. Amendments in the present law seek to make families equally liable for selective abortion of female fetuses since they go to clinics performing sex-selection tests initiating the process of sex selection and female feticide. Although the overall abortion rate in India is lower than that seen in many other countries, selective abortion of girls is higher and on the rise since girls die at twice the rate of boys before they reach the age of five. In some Indian families, girls are seen as economic burdens for the family whereas boys can become earners and care for their parents when they become elderly. The high abortion rate of female fetuses has rendered a dramatic gender imbalance in India. A woman is blamed for producing a female child since she's not keeping the family name. She then faces desertion, discrimination and violence . If the mother go for abortion, she will too be threatened by her family and husband hence difficulties by the Indian government of whom to criminalize for the abortion. The fundamentals of female empowerment will be absolutely tampered with. Gender imbalance as a result of the abortions of female fetuses is also a menace in China. In India, there are 7.1 million fewer girls than boys up to the age of six while in China; boys are also more than girls by 32 million under the age of 20. This gender imbalance will lead to millions of men unable to get wives especially the poor. Indian government must therefore increase the value of women and girls in society in order to reduce selective abortion as stated by Dr. Raj. Selective abortion of female fetuses in India dates to the tradition of male preference. ... Male preference often focuses on economics whereby girls are viewed as economic burdens for their families whereas boys can become earners and provide for their respective families. Traditionally, boys are a source of protection and care to their parents when they become elderly whereas girls will care for the families of those they marry. A girl is often viewed as a financial burden in some Indian families because when a girl is married off, the families of the groom demand a dowry payment which is illegal in India but still widely practiced (Seguino 1228). As a result, this take of girl child in India has led to creation of gender imbalance due to selective abortion of female fetuses. According to reports of the Daily Telegraph newspaper of Britain, Indian activists estimate that as many as 8 million unborn females were aborted over the past decade due to the pressurization of mothers to produce only boys. A mother is therefore blamed for producing a female child and faces desertio n, discrimination and even violence to some extent for punishing the family. Census reports in India also show that over the 50 year period from 1961 to 2011, the number of girls born per 1000 boys dropped from 976 to 914 creating a dramatic gender imbalance (Seguino 1221-2). Since Indian men already outnumber women by almost 10 million, there is demand to abolish abortions which occur every day as stated by Uttar Pradesh. Indian government and authorities have launched the fight against selective abortion of female fetuses. Entire families who pressure their female relatives into aborting female fetuses may be imprisoned together with the medical professionals who perform ultrasound tests to determine a