Female Foeticide- Meaning, Reasons & Solutions.

The post I am going to share today is not just a post; it is an impact of vandalism on the souls of all women who have gone through either experiencing Female Foeticide with their babies or anyone in their relations.

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Few of my questions to those who don’t want a baby girl (who kill the baby girl in the womb) are- 

  1. Will you clarify why you don’t want a baby girl?
  2. Whether she will not love you as much as your son will love you?
  3. Do you fear for the dowry for her marriage?
  4. Are female children unable to create their positions or have less brain or anything in comparison to boys?
  5. Are you worried about your lineage, which you think only a male child will carry forward?

A comparison that I experienced in real life for being a girl child.

Before expecting answers to these questions from my side, let me start with my own story. I was born to a very loving mummy-papa who never compared my sister and me to anyone’s sons. They gave us all the necessities which any parents could ever give their children.

But still, I have experienced discrimination through the eyes of my paternal as well as maternal relations. I can’t take anyone’s name because it will be too much to publicize their names. But I still remember when they used to pass comments on my mother for not bearing a male child.

Now let us watch a small story that will briefly describe, what in actual Female Foeticide is all about👇

The real cause of Female Foeticide starts from our society.

In our society, people think boys to be the real heir of their parents/family. Girls are seen as the property of their husband’s family. Boys are considered to take care of their parents in old age, but girls are not looked upon this way. However, we have seen girls taking care of their parents more responsibly as compared to their brothers.

What is the meaning of Female Foeticide?

We all have heard of abortions that pregnant ladies undergo to terminate a fetus(embryo in the womb of the mother). Abortion is a medical procedure to get rid of an unwanted child.

In my opinion, abortion is too inhuman, but in extreme cases, when there are underlying medical issues with the pregnant lady, it should be carried out in proper medical supervision.

Abortion, when done illegally after acknowledging the fact that the foetus in the womb is not a male child but is a girl child, is called Female Foeticide.

Most of us have read numerous cases in Newspapers when the foetus in the womb is aborted just because the baby is a girl. It disturbs our human conscience when we compare these incidents with our existence as humans.

Have we lost our emotions somewhere?

Definitely yes, anyone practising killing a baby girl in the womb(Female Foeticide) is just a demon, we can’t consider that species as humans. They are even Crueler and more unsympathetic than Monsters.

Data on Female Foeticide/ killing of a baby girl in the womb-

It is estimated that more than 10 million female fetuses have been illegally aborted in India. Researchers for the Lancet journal based in Canada and India stated that 500000 girls were being lost annually through sex-selective abortions. Haryana is the state, where the sex ratio is only 879( means 879 females 1000 males). It is the lowest sex ratio among all Indian states.

Reasons for Female Foeticide(the illegal killing of girls) in the womb of the mother are-

1. Our society gives preference to Sons in comparison to girls – the reason for aborting girl child in mother’s womb.

In our society, boys are thought of as an asset because they can earn and support their families, whereas parents believe a girl is a liability. After all, she has to marry and go to another family, so she will not share her earnings with her parents. People think girls as unwanted burdens that have to go to their in-law’s house at last.

2. Boys are considered as the heir of their family – so girls are killed before birth.

Boys are thought to take forward the name of their fathers and ancestors. We are living in a patriarchal society, where the names of our forefathers and fathers to be carried forward is more important than the life of a girl. This mental state is responsible up to a greater extent for the killing of a baby girl even before her birth.

Sometimes it feels painful thinking why the name can not know the father of his daughter? Who does not know the name of Lt. Mrs Indira Gandhi as a daughter of Lt. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Was she not a daughter who carried forward her father’s lineage? She was and will remain an example in India’s history, for being a female taking the hierarchy of her family forward.

3. Dowry system is one of the prime cause of Female Foeticide.

So if you don’t Know about dowry, let me explain it first. Dowry is a payment/ lump sum of cash and other expensive items taken by the groom’s family from the bride’s family. In Indian society, it is thought as a symbol of status for boys’ families to receive a dowry; this reflects their market value.

But for a girl’s family, it is not less than a curse. Girls are valued less in comparison to boys and are thought to be economically dependent on boys. That’s why for taking care of her throughout her life, the boy’s parents charge a lump sum of money from the girl’s side.

Now here arises a question. Girls provide services to her husband’s family like cooking laundry, cleaning, washing, managing the family, etc. Is she paid for all those services? Well!! We all know she is never paid for these.

Also, in the present scenario, many of the women are working. Even then, why is there a demand for dowry from their parents?

Dowry is one of the immediate causes of rising female foeticide cases in India and thus improper balance of gender( male and female).

4. Girls are weak when compared to boys.

Boys are physically stronger than girls. People think that boys will take care of their parents in their old age, and girls are from the starting of their life considered as Amaanat( the girls owe to other families). Do you think we need only more muscular children, won’t we be happy to get a child equally sharper, adorable, and caring as boys. I am not saying that the boys are not caring, but here the concern is about mercilessly killing of fetuses based on gender.

5. Girls are not considered safe in our society.

stop-female-foeticide

In our society, girls always undergo bad comments on their physical appearance, dresses, and many more. Our society’s mentality is one of the prime causes of killing a girl child in her mother’s womb. We often hear of acid attacks, harassment, and stocking of girls and women. Because of these heart-aching incidents, girls are considered unsafe, and parents are always worried about their safety.

6. Girls are considered a financial obligation by many families, so they prefer abortion of baby girl.

Even in this modern era, most people think that spending money on girls’ education is total wastage. Parents wonder what they get in the return of educating them when they have to go to their in-laws finally. And because of this prevailing backward mentality, most of the rural population of India comprises illiterate girls.

People often prefer to save money for their sons, which will help with their future. Parents forget that either he is a boy or a girl; children are always blessings of God. Both want equal care and love.

7. Our society considers the birth of a boy auspicious, that leads them to heaven.

Our social system is trapped in a mentality that makes people believe that bearing a baby boy is a path to heaven, and carrying a baby girl is a path to hell. It is just a myth, and we need to eradicate it from the very root of the mentality of those uneducated and backward people. People should know the fact that it is just biological to bear a baby girl or a baby boy. 

8. Rape.

Rape is not just an attack over women’s bodies; it even stabs souls of theirs. This is a prime concern that a family worries about to have a baby girl. We hear daily instances of rape of girls, women even infants. Parents consider girls unsafe and prone to social evils like rape.

Giving birth to a baby girl brings fear in the minds of her parents about her safety. We often hear of cases when a girl was returning home and was abducted, raped, and thrown in bushes/lonely places. Increasing rape in our country is a prime reason why parents are fearful of having a baby girl.

9. Illegal medical practices give a boost to female foeticide.

If there would be no doctors telling parents about the gender of the child before birth, Was it Possible to abort it? Medical Practitioners who are illegally performing gender tests and disclosing it are the dark spots of doctors’ names. Doctors are considered as God in our society, but some doctors are trying to make us believe that there are no Gods when it comes to the matter of money.

 Also read –

  1.  Female foeticide in India.
  2. List of states and union territories of India by sex ratio.

What will happen when there are fewer girls in comparison to boys(if Female Foeticide is not stopped)?

1. There will be no brides for boys.

If you think this is funny, you are mistaken here.

Think about the situation when there are 924 females per 1000 males( which is present sex ratio in India). 924 females can get married to 924 males, then what will happen to rest 76 males( this number is just out of thousand, and the population of India is more than 135 crores). When we compare this to India’s total population, it comes out to be a considerable number of boys left unmarried. Also, we have seen in many states; Men pay for brides to get married to them. Even then, there is a considerable age gap between the couple.

2. There will be no sisters, no daughters, and no friends for your support.

Think about your life without these relations. In India and the whole world, men always seek to get care and love from women in the form of sisters, friends, daughters, and mothers. A girl can squeeze out every pain from the life of a connected person. If there would be no girls to whom you will share your happiness, achievements, and success. There will be no one to wipe your tears when you cry.

3. The world will start collapsing.

Girls are the future women. They give birth to carry forward your lineage. When there is a shortage of girls, the whole mechanism of taking forward the human generation would be affected. Just start to think about it, if it continues it will be a severe issue in the coming future.

Also read- 

  1. Let us start the journey of togetherness.
  2. 15 things what women want from the men.
  3. 11 facts you must know about Indian women.

How to stop female foeticide? – Solutions.

1. The Government should launch programs to educate people.

Educating the illiterate population can make people aware that there is no difference between a girl and a boy. Both can be successful in their lives if they are given proper education, love, and care that they deserve. People should be made aware that girls can take care of their parents in their old age. Girls can also support their families financially.

2. The Government should ban medical professionals from revealing the gender of the foetus.

It is illegal to disclose the gender of a baby before its birth in India, but some cheap doctors are secretly practising it. Strict rules should be made to punish those who are involved in these types of illegal practices—disclosing the gender of the child before birth should be considered a heinous crime.

3. By creating awareness regarding health issues after abortion.

People, especially women, should be made aware of health issues that arise after aborting a child. They should be educated through TV, radio, and other means like short plays and roadshows that how harmful abortion is for their body and health. This will cast a positive impact on the mind of ladies who think of aborting their child.

4. The dowry system should be ended.

Dowry is that EVIL of our society, which has put many women on fire. It has even forced many girls to suicide because their parents were unable to find a good match for them due to lack of money—the money they needed to pay to the boy’s family as dowry. The Government should ban the dowry system, and strict rules should be made to punish both families, those who are asking for dowry and those you are willing to give dowry. This will help in stopping the practice of killing many innocent lives before their birth for being a girl.

5. The trial process for the rape convicts should be shortened.

There should be immediate and harsh punishment for rape convicts. In our society, when a girl is raped and goes for justice, the process to get justice itself is more killing. She has to answer all the questions asked by the lawyer in the courtroom, which happens multiple times.

Please think of the condition when she is undergoing mental rape after physical rape. Our system needs some changes. The Government should increase the level of the harshness of punishments for the rape convicts.

6. The safety of women and girls should be a prior concern for the Indian Government.

stop-female-foeticide

Some boys think that it is their right and demotivate girls at schools, roads, colleges, restaurants, or wherever they go. Women and girls in our country experience regular stalking regarding their dressing, body parts, and many other things.

Girls are even fearful of going to markets, colleges, and coaching. Stalking should be considered as a crime. The Government of India should launch a new and more definite set of focused rules for safeguarding the freedom of girls and women.

We should together with the Government of our country, try to convert India into a place where women and girls can live safely and happily as men and boys do. This will motivate parents to give birth to girl children fearlessly and with pride.

7. Self-defence training should be compulsory for girls in school.

Females should be trained in a way to become able to handle the situations when there is a need for self-defence. It should be mandatory in schools to train a girl physically and mentally to deal with the situation if any arrives, and she has to protect her dignity from those monsters. Like physical education, it should be incorporated in the syllabus like a subject.

The focus should be to make them efficient at the level of mind as well as physical level. This will empower her from inside as well as outside.

FINAL WORDS:

I have presented the opinion which I as well as most of the women and girls think. It is not always easy to present your emotions and feelings through writings, but I have tried to write out the pain we all feel when we hear of killing a foetus for being a girl.

Not all parents are partial, and not every man is feeling-less. We should try to unite positive people around us to root out negative mindsets from our society.

This can only be changed when We all come together and start changing the mindset of at least one person whom we know. Even one trial by us will result in a vast number. Just think about it.

All people live, but let us start living for a constructive cause. Let us empower ourselves from inside. Let us celebrate womanhood.

If you want to share your story or any incident that has impacted your mind for being a girl/woman, please leave a comment below.

Lastly, I would like to thank Feedspot for recognizing my efforts and giving me a place at number 46👇

Top Women Blogs And Websites in 2020 Every Woman Must Follow- Feedspot Blog

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13 thoughts on “Female Foeticide- Meaning, Reasons & Solutions.”

  1. Dear Shubha,

    Your THOUGHTS are just amazing and what you have written is exactly true !!!

    You are awesome 👌

    My best wishes with you.

    Reply
  2. Hello Shubha Di,

    This is an Amazing post and a bitter truth of our society. This is our dilemma because we worship goddess Durga but still have zero respect towards women. Our man dominated society still things that female child is a curse. They think beyond the reality and it also reflects the lower mindset of them. Abortion is a Murder and one of the henious crime. These people are no less than a monster. Thanks for this awareness.

    Regards,
    Vishwajeet Kumar

    Reply
    • Hi Vishwajeet,

      Thanks alot for supporting the views of this article. Your points are exactly right, we need to change this backward mentality. Thanks for the comment.

      Regards,
      Shubha Tiwari

      Reply
  3. Hello ma’am,

    Thanks for sharing this delicate and eye opening post.
    I appreciate your efforts that you have thrown light on each very aspect of female foeticide – the patriarchal mindset, insecurity for safety, dowry and the hierarchy.

    Change should be adopted if the goodness lies in it.

    Collectively, we have to take a step forward to abolish such evil customs.

    Regards,
    Raksha Kumawat

    Reply
  4. You haven’t written a piece of content, rather i would say this is a reflection of our society. You know every girl has her own fight. I have my own and i believe that we are fighters by birth but look at this shit of hypocricy that we are looked upon as poor fellows who can’t do things on their own. Our society thinks that we ll have to take their permission to live, eat, breathe and i don’t know, may be to sleep with somebody.
    C’mon Girls ALSO have brains and they are much more intellectual than Male Gender. People should check data which are public and analyze on their own, through all dimensions.
    Yes! Our society needs to change but think twice. Society means people which includes us, Male and Female.

    This content is superbly correct and it has data alongwith. Good job!!

    Reply
    • Thanks Vijaya for getting connected with the pain. This pain only women or girls can feel. And the purpose of this article is just to make our male couterparts to feel the same. Keep visiting🙂
      Regards,
      Shubha Tiwari.

      Reply
  5. Hello Shubha Di,

    It is an amazing post and a bitter truth of our society,
    Thanks for sharing this delicate and eye opening post. I read your article till the end, then I realized that the society needs to know these information.

    Reply

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