Click to play videoNew Delhi: While International Women's Day is being observed across the world as a day that celebrates the new, empowered woman, in the heart of India, uncomfortable questions remain answered.
Female foeticide remains a malaise and even the Minister of Women and Child Development, Renuka Chowdhry, admits that India's laws against foeticide are inadequate and need an overhaul.
“Yes it needs certain amendments. Like appropriate authority was defined as the doctors, obviously they are not going to tell on each other,” she tells CNN-IBN.
Her comments assume importance in the light of the alarming rise in foeticide rates across various northern states including Haryana. A CNN-IBN team traveled across the state and found the mindsets remain strictly patriarchal. [Read how a govt scheme is making a difference]
Says a father, Suresh Kumar, “Beti hone ka dukh toh hota hi hai har insaan ko (Obviously everyone feels sad if a daughter is born)”
But it’s not just the men. Says Mainadevi, a mother of seven, “Paanch ladkiyan ek ladke ki iccha men huye, aur phir laga ek aur ho jayee, is chakkar mein do aur ladki ho gaye. (I gave birth to five girls just to get a boy, tried again and got two girls yet again.)
The doctors running abortion clinics across the state too reveal that abortions based on sex-determination tests are thriving in Haryana.
One such doc, Rammat, explains the procedure in graphic detail, matter of factly, “Uterus ke andar se hi auzaraon se pehle kaatein hain, kaatke phir jaise bahar nikalte hain. (We cut the uterus open and remove the foetus)”
The Pre-Conception, Pre-Natal Diagnostic Test (PCPNDT) Act enacted in 1994 is not a deterrent for these clinics.
In the 15 years that the law has been in place, there have been just two convictions in female foeticide cases. The Minister admits to the problem.
“The importance of the subject wasn't understood by the various implementing agencies and also they brushed it under the carpet. Some of them actually believed they were doing the man a favor,” she says.
The lack of proper law enforcement and the lukewarm success of government programs like Ladli or the National Cradle Scheme show that age-old social biases have not yet broken down.
“We are launching huge awareness programme. You will also see a national campaign being launched now, and then our help lines are being universalised where people can call and complain,” assures Chowdhry.
(With inputs from Divya Shah)
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