Female Feticide In India

Brianna Curry

Gendercide

• Infanticide has been practiced throughout the world for centuries

• Girls in India are discriminated against before they are even born

• India’s current ratio is 93 women to every 100 men

•

What is Female Feticide?

• Female feticide is “a practice that involves the detection and abortion of a female fetus due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females.

• Detection-Ultrasound-Amniocentesis

Patriarchy• Like many societies in the

world, India is patrilineal• Men held high positions in

the community and made all of the decisions

• Women were inferior to men• Women in India have

traditionally been discriminated against before birth, after birth, during their marriage, and as widows

Dowry System in India

• In India, a dowry is the payment of some sort, either in the form of gifts, animals, or money

• The bride and her family are expected to provide the groom with the dowry

• Families in poverty will spend all of their lives preparing for a dowry

Why is Feticide Being Practiced in India

• ECONOMICS • Dowry• The son takes care of

his parents in their old age, not the daughter

State’s Response

• The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act• Abortion is legal if: the mother’s life is at risk due to

complications with the pregnancy- the child is at risk of being born with a

disability or other dangers- if the mother was raped and as a

consequence, becomes pregnant, -if the woman wishes to keep her family small

If someone commits female feticide, they can be fined and serve up to two years in prison

Limitations of India’s Legal System

• Lack of enforcement• There are thousands of

cases of feticide in India, yet very few cases are prosecuted.

• Feticide is “too lucrative”

The People Respond

• Many organizations have been created to combat both infanticide and feticide.

• The international community as well as nongovernmental organizations have increased their efforts for fighting for the rights of young women in India

• Adoption• Cradle Baby Scheme

References

• Ahmad, Nehaluddin. “Female Feticide in India.” Issues in Law & Medicine. Summer2010, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p13-29.