PUNE, India, 17 March 2008 — Female feticide and infanticide, problems that are leading to disparity in sex ration in India, were the topics of a discussion organized by the All Indian Muslim Waqf Trust, the Islahe Muasha Committee and the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in Pune on Saturday.
Dr. Milind Bhoi said that “almost 50 percent of pregnant women go to doctors to find out the sex of their unborn child.” And some doctors entertain these requests. These women abort the fetus if it is going to be a girl child, said Bhoi, who felt such women and their families need counseling. “Doctors have evolved a code language of their own where Monday means male child and Friday female,” Bhoi said.
Enacting legislation alone to prevent female feticide via sex determination tests will not solve the problem, Bhoi said. An attitudinal change through proper education is important. “It’s crucial for the woman to come forward and put her foot down against identifying her unborn child’s gender,” he said.
Abdul Rehman, a lawyer, said: “Female feticide is cruelty to women. In spite of several existing laws to prevent this, people ask what kind of punishment they will be liable to if they were to get rid of a female child,” he said. Societal pressure for a boy child is often cited as the reason why a would-be mother gets her female fetus aborted. Ironically, the crime of female feticide and infanticide is more prevalent in comparatively more prosperous western Maharashtra, said Amanullah Khan.
The twin problems of female feticide and infanticide are leading to aggravated criminal activity in society, said Islamic scholar Anees Chisti. The highest number of cases of female feticide is reported among the Sikhs, followed by Jains, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, Chisti said, and suggested a four-point approach to tackle this.
Chisti announced an action plan based on counseling, dialogue, punitive action and sting operations to expose the racket behind the illegal prenatal sex determination tests.
Finding grassroots-level solutions to stop families from killing female fetuses and girls can be worked out, he said. “First talk to them about the effects of this problem and offer solutions. If this doesn’t work, inform the police,” he said.
Concerned over the increasing cases of females feticide, Muslim leaders have stepped forward to fight the practice. Maulana Nizamuddin Fakhruddin, a member of the AIMPLB, said society needs to wake up to the “gruesome murders” taking place and take steps to counter it.
