The Associated Press reports that 7,000 fewer girls are born in India every day. The increased use of ultrasound in India has made sex-selection that much easier. The number of abortions of girls is staggering. Indian officials aren't pleased:
"Female feticide should be treated as a crime and not just a social evil, therefore stringent punishment and punitive action is required," said Renuka Choudhury, India's women and child development minister.
She's correct. But why isn't abortion of any child regardless of sex viewed as a form of feticide?
Comments (1)
Hi David, if you understand the context in which female foeticide has been treated as a crime, you would know how much graver it is compared to foeticide in general. Foeticide for any gender may be a problem, I am not arguing on that, however there is no sense of discrimination in that. If you understand the context of India you would know that here tens of millions of females unborn and just born that are killed, merely because they are female. Do you understand the implication of that. It also means, the condition for those who are saved to live, goes on to be so abysmal that parents rather have them dead in the first place It means a lot more. If you are a female you are unwanted, even by your own parents. Based on your sex your own parents are prepared to kill you, then what can these females expect from society. And if I further extend it, the whole problem is embedded in the society, so badly that it sends shivers on females. And the victims are not just the poor and the backward, the females who stay in fear come from all walks of life, and even Renuka Choudhury's own daughter, the daughter of a minister, has been harrassed for dowry. Even in this century, and among educated people. Do you understand what is the fate of lesser privileged people, who are in hundreds of billions in the country and in foriegn lands. This is a crime which is finishing the society which is taking the country back to dark ages, ages of slavery, ages of cavemen and bushmen. There was recently a huge yard unearthed in the state of Punjab in India(A prosperous and extremely forward state) which showed a huge dump of female foetus and just born females. Does it send a chill down your spine. Does it remind you of Hitler's gas chambers. This is the state of things even today in progressive India. How do you address it? Who will address it. Where do you start in the society to address it
March 26, 2007 6:45 AM | Comment Permalink