Spare the Girl, Save a Life

Female foeticide is common everywhere in India, not only the lower income groups, but also the educated people resort to this when in desperate need of a male child in their family.

And it's not only those shady doctors who do the sex determination tests, but also the famous ones, the ones who deliver celebrity babies and are all over the papers. The sex determination test (the secret one) which needs to be done before it's too late for an abortion is done, is a slightly complicated procedure, involving withdrawal of amniotic fluid and increasing the risk of the child having congenital defects. Most to-be mothers are willing to bear the risk and pay an exorbitant price for the all-important test. Of course, this test is done only on the most trusted clients.

I did a bit of asking around casually and have come to the conclusion that in almost every family in this country, female foeticide is an accepted norm.

I had a taste of this a couple of years ago. A woman from an exteremely rich family, herself very well-educated, gave birth to a baby boy--15 years after giving birth to two girls. At the naming ceremony, the grandmothers beamed happily and pronounced gleefully: "We always said it's very important for girls to have brothers. Our wishes for a boy for her have finally come true." The mother nodded in return. Seems she was very happy too. It also seems that she had three abortions.
The sisters have nothing to say about their new brother, and they keep mum on the issue. Of course, everyone in the family knows it wasn't just a mistake; it was a deliberate mistake. Disgusting.

Ask any woman if she knows a doctor who does top-secret sex determination and female MTPs, and almost invariably, the answer you get will be 'Yes'. All the women I asked gave this answer.Everyone knows. It'a an open secret. What shall I say? I shouldn't be surprised, should I?