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"Its a given thing that unless a woman produces a child, she is a nobody and in India, it's essential for them to produce a boy, or else they keep trying. There are instances of women getting pregnant 11 times in a matter of years just to have a boy," says Ruhani. And this phenomenon is not just restricted to rural India. Metros too have recorded some terrifying statistics over the last few years.
Affluent south Delhi has more to it than flashy wheels, ostentatious houses and markets for the rich. Figures have revealed that there is a skewed sex ratio in the Capital. There are only 762 girls for 1000 boys and one in every four girls are aborted. In posh South Delhi where there are only one or two kids per family, an ultrasound helps custom order the right gender. Expecting parents can pick the gender of their baby, just as they would pick their winter clothes. "It's all about the economics. Doctors charge some money for the ultrasound and then another sum for the abortion. Many times, they even say the baby is a girl to make money. But, this will continue as long as there is a demand. I routinely get people asking me to tell them if they're having a girl or boy," says Radiologist R C Patnaik. Patnaik goes on to elaborate that ultrasounds are not the only way that one can find out whether the child is a girl or a boy. He says that a new kit in the US allows mothers to find out the sex of their baby through blood and urine samples. Sex determination is punishable by the law, but this hasn't stopped some of South Delhi's well-established gynecologists from revealing the sex of the child. The process is discreet as the doctors usually begin to refer to the baby by their gender, or ask parents to buy clothes of a certain colour. And a study by the Christian Medical Association of India proves that wealth and education have nothing to do with aborting a female foetus. Indian society's worst kept secret is finally out in the open. Little girls are still considered an economic liability, a drag on their families. |