In 2020, male to female ratio for India was 108.18 males per 100 females, a ratio that has been increasing since the 1950s at an average rate of 0.19%. That is, the preference for male child increasing significantly over the years through practices of selective birth. Some families actively choose to procreate in order maximise the number of male children in their family.
India isn't a country that largely prefers female child over the male child--> when given the choice to have only two- this problem is likely to exacerbate.
Here is why:
Policies that demand change aren't necessarily bad, the question is- "how do people achieve the outcome that the change requires?"
When it comes to answering this question, the link lies in the ground reality of the concerned group of people. Even when policies are made considering all the possible loopholes, with further policies and actions implemented to minimise the fall outs- the end result is determined by the people.
India has for long had a growing population since it's independence with the initial aim to grow the population in exchange for welfare benefits. As a welfare state, it was able to achieve this outcome a little too well as it witnessed a significant population boom by the 1970s. By the time of 1990s- a large population had become a big concern for India.
Wherein, our developmental problems were associated with the inability to manage the ever growing population. It is at this point in time that the practices of selective birth/abortion infiltrated the state healthcare system.
Check mechanisms were weaker decades ago, but let's look at where they stand today.
Various non-consensual abortions were pushed on the girl child-bearing mother. To ensure the health of the infant and the pregnant mother- various systems such as that of "Anganwadi" workers exist in status quo. Anganwadi is a type of rural child care centre in India. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition.
Additionally, record maintaining systems have improved over a period of time to facilitate active check on pregnant mothers especially where healthcare resources are scarce. But mostly importantly, educational campaigns were set in the late 90s to greatly incentivise the birth of a girl child.
Understanding that the large populous in poverty rely heavily on state welfare mechanisms, several annual ration distributions, free education policies were made conditional on having a girl child in the family.
What remains a concern then?
It's always been easier to control the poor, underprivileged classes in society due to the fact that they lack power to exploit loopholes within the system; politically and/or economically. It's been noted that several local tribes, lower economic households have little to no discrimination against the birth of a girl child over the recent years. The largest concern remains within patriarchal, misogynistic societies- that have the political power to escape state check mechanisms.
This excerpt is taken from a data of the Census report which records the sex ratio at birth across different states in India from years 2010-2015 as x females:1000 males.
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