Social impact of sex ratio, female foeticide and infanticide

The sex ratio is the ratio of males to the females in a population. In India, the child sex ratio has decreased over the decade from 927 to 919 female for every 1000 males. To correct this ratio, steps are needed to change the mind set and attitudes of people, especially in the young adults. Female foeticide and infanticide is the manifestation of gender discrimination in our society.

Female foeticide refers to ‘aborting the female in the mother’s womb’; whereas female infanticide is ‘killing the female child after her birth’. These have resulted in imbalance in sex ratio. In UNDP’s GII 2018 (United nations developmental programmes gender inequality index) reflected that India was ranked at 135 out of 187 countries due to availability of very few economic opportunities to women as compared to men.

In order to prevent female foeticide and infanticide, Government of India has taken various steps like PCPNDT Act (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act-1994) enacted to ban the identification of sex and to prevent the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for selective abortion. Various measures are taken by the Government to ensure survival, provision of better nutrition, education, protection and empowerment of girls by eliminating the differences in the sex ratio, infant mortality rate and improving their nutritional and educational status. POCSO Act (Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences), Sexual harassment at workplace (Prevention, prohibition and redressal) Act and the changes in the Criminal law based on the recommendations of Justice Verma Committee, 2013 aims at creating a safe and secure environment for both females and males.