Feminist Critical Study on Declining Girl Sex Ratio in Punjab
Feminist
Critical Study on Declining Girl Sex Ratio in Punjab
*Gurpinder Kumar
Punjab is the spectacular state of India which lies in Northern part. Punjab is dominated by Sikh/Punjabi community with more than 60% population. Rest of the population represents Hindu, Muslims, Christians, Jains, and other communities. The Punjabi language also known as Gurmukhi is the official language of Punjab. Punjab is a leading state of India with agricultural production and per capita income. Jat Sikhs forms a larger part of Sikh community in Punjab. Their main occupation is believed to be agriculture and its related work. Population of Punjab is growing at a good rate every year from the time of Independence. The population of Punjab in 1991 was estimated to be 20.19 million. It reached further 24.3 million by the end of 2001. Around 20% of total Population in Punjab is migratory from other regions in India. The literacy rate in Punjab stands at 75% which is quiet descent. Agricultural is the main source of income of the people in Punjab. About 66% of the Population in Punjab lives in rural areas.
Another important cause related to Population of Punjab is its ever declining sex ratio. In the last 20 years, it has gone down very rapidly. According to recent figures, there are only 895 females per 1000 males in Punjab Sex Ratio is a term used to define number of females per 1000 males. It's a great source to find the equality of males and females in a society at a given period of time. In India Sex Ratio was okay till the time of Independence, thereafter it has declined regularly. According to Census of India 2011, Indian sex ratio has shown some improvement in the last 10 years. It has gone up from 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011 census of India. There has been some improvement in the Sex Ratio of India but it has gone down badly in some states like Haryana. The state of Kerala with 1084 females for every 1000 males has the best sex ratio in India. It has shown a tremendous improvement in the last 10 years. Haryana has the lowest sex ratio of 877 females per 1000 males. So Sex Ratio of India varies from region to region. Kerala and Puducherry are only two places in India where total female population is more than the male population. Other states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka are also showing an increase in their sex ratio. The states of South India have the best Sex Ratio of females per 1000 males. Kerala with 1084 females per 1000 males has the highest sex ratio according to 2011 Census of India. The state of Haryana has the lowest female literacy rate in India. In Union Territories of India, Daman and Diu has the lowest female sex ratio while Pondicherry has the highest female sex ratio in India. There is some extent of gender bias in India which is responsible for this decline in female ratio however it has started to show some improvement in the last 20 years. Lack of education and poverty in rural areas leads to gender bias.
According to the Census of 2011, the overall sex ratio at the national level has increased by 7 points since the 2001 census to reach 940 females per 1000 males¸ this is lower than 1961 when the figure stood at 941 females per 1000 males. Despite introducing several laws on female foeticide and schemes to encourage the families to have a girl child, the sex ratio in India has gone down. The child sex ratio has gone to 914 females per 1000 males which is the lowest record since independence. These numbers clearly state that the Indian society still prefers boys over girls such that they could have a security for their future. The ratio has gone down to 914 from 927 when the last census was taken. The monotonic decline in the sex ratio over the last decade, despite the improving socio economic characteristics reinforces the existence of gender discriminatory practices which starts even before birth; which requires the urgent attention of public policy, as improving literacy and economic value of women is necessary but not sufficient for enhancing the relative life chances of girl child. The ratio has gone down to 914 from 927 when the last census was taken. This points to the fact that economic growth and human development seldom moves together, when it comes to improving gender relations. However, this figure conceals the wide variation across the states in India and a distinct geographical pattern. The state of Mizoram has the highest child sex ratio with 971 females per 1000 males, while Meghalaya has 970 per 1000 males. Normally, the states like Punjab and Haryana have lower sex ratio, but in the recent years, an increasing trend has been seen in the states. Haryana has 830 females while Punjab has 846 females per 1000 males. Several reasons are attributed to the decline in the number of girls- neglect of the girl child, high maternal mortality, female infanticide and now, female foeticide. Sex- selective abortions have been greatly facilitated by the misuse of diagnostic procedures such as amniocentesis that can determine the sex of the foetus. Reports state that unequal access to health care leads to higher mortality rate of girls. However, in some other reports it has been noted that the gender differentials in the access to nutrition appeared as a negligible factor. Sex selective abortions and son preferences are also identified as determinants of declining sex ratio. Excess female mortality is the basic reason for declining sex ratio and excess female mortality in turn is the result of female infanticide, female foeticide, and neglect of female and maternal mortality. Another study suggested the labour force participation rate and literacy rate of women play a significant role in lessening sex ratio, while increasing resource to seek selective abortions worsen it. While these could be the immediate causes resulting in the distortion of sex ratios, the prime motivation for practice of such measures stems from the preferential sex composition of children. With the ongoing pace of fertility transition, couples are rather forced to achieve a desired sex composition of children within a limited allowance for the number of children. With the changing social norms towards smaller family size, the availability and access to new technologies provides an easy way for parents to realize their desired goals. Ranjana Kumari, chairperson of Centre for Social Research, opines that unless we strengthen the law, the sex ratio will not improve. “Ultrasound machines are so faulty that even quacks have access to them.” There is a lack of political will to take this issue forward effectively. The Central Supervisory Board, which must meet every six months, has been non- existent for three years. She adds that the Health Minister should be held accountable for this. According to women’s rights activist, Madhu Kishwar, the single most important reason for this decline in sex ratio is the growing spread of foeticide followed by sex determination tests. “The lowest sex ratio figures for the two relatively prosperous states close to the national capital, Haryana and Punjab, show that the laws are not effective in Delhi’s immediate vicinity”, says Kishwar. Just as son preference, daughter discrimination too was assumed to respond to rising social economic welfare and a host of other characteristics like female education, improved nutrition and greater healthcare. Anthropologists have argued that infanticide and sex selective infant and child mortality were the traditional means of deciding the sex composition of the children. Contrary to the traditional means of bearing unwanted daughters to have the required number of sons, modern technology has facilitated a sacrifice of unborn daughters. This undesirable consequence leads to several apprehensions. Despite better opportunities for women’s education, rising labour force participation and the so-called autonomy and independence of girls, daughters are not considered equal to sons. This phenomenon is universal, both amongst the haves and have-not as well as in the developing and developed nations. And finally, reproductive regulation of any kind is not free from cultural assumptions regarding gender difference and hierarchy. Such cultural rooting is visible from the role and functional stereotypes of boys and girls. Cultural differences in the levels of contact and expectation between married daughters and their natal kin explain the liability attribute of daughters as compared to that of sons. Village and kin exogamy is said to sever ties with a married daughter. Given the pervasive bias against girl children conditioned by their adverse social and cultural valuation, masculine sex ratios are likely to stay despite any corrective legislation and regulation. A larger intervention towards framing policies that equalize their valuation with that of male offspring’s might require a whole lot of social and cultural change beyond regulations and legal restrictions. Parents of lone daughters as well as daughters without male siblings have to be provided with indirect support and incentives. The concept of liability that is attached to daughters is largely derived from the evils of dowry, which fetches no return from investment in them to parents as well from terms of the socially prescribed norms regarding the obligations of married daughters towards their natal family. The status of women in the Indian society is largely perceived in terms of her individual characteristics and functioning, which needs to extend to her legitimate stake over her children as well. Non-conformity with socio-cultural prescriptions becomes a pre- requisite for translating gains in characteristics of women into their functional gains. The efforts at addressing the evil of masculine child sex ratio have to have a widened focus on valuation of the girl child. Such valuation has always been in the domain of education, occupation, survival, nutrition etc. However; a proper valuation involves a life-course assessment of the different stages in the lives of the woman, such as daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, and mother-in-law. Violence against children is one of the major reasons behind a drastic decline in sex ratio. It has an impact on all children’s rights and requires the effective engagement of all levels of public administration and the involvement of all relevant ministries. This year’s census served as a long overdue wake-up call to Indian officials. Very recently, the government reconstituted the Central Supervisory Board, introducing 35 new members ranging from government officials to gynaecologists and obstetricians. Its first meeting is scheduled in late May. While the problem won’t be solved immediately, it must be addressed immediately. It may sound apocalyptic, but if an effective change in culture and attitude cannot be promoted quickly, there will soon be no babies to abort. The situation in Haryana, Punjab, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh required immediate attention as sex ratio in these states has gone down below the 900 marks. The statistics of Union Territories intensify situation furthers. Sex Ratio is a term used to define number of females per 1000 males. It's a great source to find the equality of males and females in a society at a given period of time. In India Sex Ratio was okay till the time of Independence, thereafter it has declined regularly. According to Census of India 2011, Indian sex ratio has shown some improvement in the last 10 years. It has gone up from 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011 census of India. There has been some improvement in the Sex Ratio of India but it has gone down badly in some states like Haryana and Punjab. The state of Kerala with 1084 females for every 1000 males has the best sex ratio in India. It has shown a tremendous improvement in the last 10 years. Haryana & Punjab has the lowest sex ratio of onwards 877 and 893 females per 1000 males. A look on census report 2001 reveals that, Punjab has a long history of doing away with newborn girls. The preferred method today is foeticide after a sex determination test, but centuries ago, the practice was to bury them. This tradition perhaps goes back to the days of repeated invasions by Muslim armies from the northwest, which used to carry off girls as booty for their own pleasure or to be sold in the slave markets of the Middle East. After Independence, and the passing of the Hindu Code Bill giving equal rights to inherit ancestral property to sons and daughters, things again took a turn for the worse, with the killing of newborn girls gaining momentum, especially in propertied families. With the advancement of science, the sex of the child can be detected in the womb and this practice became more widespread, resulting in a situation today where ratio of females to males in Punjab is lowest in the country. The adverse sex ratio in Punjab is not recent, In fact, from the time census figures are available, i.e. 1901, Punjab has had the dubious distinction of being the only state with the most negative sex ratio until 1981, and continued to be among the states with a high imbalance in male and female numbers. Though, the sex ratio of Punjab has been gradually inching upwards, but the 2001 Census reveals that Punjab has gone back to a pre-1981 status, indicating thereby a case of one-step forward and two steps back. Likewise, the 2001 Census also highlighted the drastic decline in the child sex ratio in Punjab. The Table-51 reveals that not any of the districts in Punjab had reported enhanced child sex ratio from 1991 to 2001. Fatahgarh Sahib, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, and Patiala districts recorded a declining trend in the child sex ratio from 1991 to 2001 with difference of points in the range of 120 to 101 respectively. District Ludhiana where the sex ratio is lowest in the state has recorded a decline of 20 points in overall sex ratio in the decade.
(*Gurpinder Kumar, is presently working as Assistant Professor in Centre for Women's Studies, University of Allahabad. His email id is wsgurpinder@gmail.com)
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