Welcome to the world of the girl child,promising yet gloomy, hopeful, yet indespair. The hand that rocks the cradle,the procreator, the mother of tomorrow; awoman shapes the destiny of civilization.Such is the tragic irony of fate, that abeautiful creation such as the girl child istoday one of the gravest concerns facinghumanity, with a volley of summits,conferences and events held for the cause,with topmost world leaders at the helm.

The society is meant to be the most vitalsupport system of a human being. It isshame then, that in a developing country,such norms of the society itself havevictimized and endangered the veryexistence of the female child in India.

† Menace of dowry

† Fear of loss of face in local community

† Desire to keep the wealth within the family,

through sons

† Fear of dependence of the girl on the family,

for life

† Attempt to control family size

† Wish to appease Gods in times of crisis

Female feticide is the selective abortion/elimination of the girl child in the

womb itself, done deliberately by the mother, after the detection of the child’s

gender through medical means. This is usually done under familial pressure

from the husband or the in-laws or even the woman’s parents. Unplanned

pregnancy is generally the reason behind abortion. However, female feticide is a

far more heinous sin than the age old practice of killing an unwanted child,

even before it’s born.

Ø Preference for the male child

Ø Deteriorated Status of Women

Ø Foul Medical Ethics

Ø Industrial Growth

Long Term Consequences

Ø Skewed Sex Ratio

Ø Female/Women Trafficking

Ø Increase in Rape and Assault

Many international and national law making bodies

have come forward to stop this cruel practice. Of

the numerous steps taken to curb the matter, the

prominent ones are:

Cancellation/permanent termination of the doctor’s license who partakes in fulfilling a client’s demand to do away with her girl child.

Heavy penalty imposed on companies like GE, that specialize in marketing medical equipment's used for illegal sex determination and abortion in unlicensed clinics and hospitals.

High fines and judicial action against ‘parents’ who knowingly try to kill their unborn baby.

Widespread campaigns and seminars for young adults and potential parents to enlighten them about the ill effects of female feticide.

Ignorance is one of the major causes for the increase in the selective sex abortion cases. Spreading awareness can go a long way in saving our future sisters, mothers, girlfriends and wives.