By

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORKFACULTY OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOWLUCKNOW (INDIA)

2015

THESIS

SUBMITTED TO THE

UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW

FOR THE DEGREE OF

IN

SOCIAL WORK

Doctor of Philosophy

Under the Supervision of

Associate ProfessorDEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

UNIVERSITYLUCKNOW

LUCKNOW

Gauravi Dwivedi

Dr. A.K. Bhartiya

S

of the

UMMARY

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SUMMARY

The issue of female foeticide and declining sex ratio has become so

alarming that if this continues then we would land virtually in a 'No Girl

Zone', resulting in adverse sex ratio which will be laboring towards varied

degree of increased misdemeanor in our society. This term (female foeticide)

is itself envelops myriads of meanings, it smacks of the fact that (a) a girl is

killed before she is born; (b) that sex of a foetus is determined to be that of a

female; (c) it acknowledges that there is technology privy to this heinous

crime; (d) there are doctors involved in first determining the sex of the baby,

then carrying out abortion; and (e) there is crime involved in violating not one

but many laws: the Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and

Prevention of misuse) 1994 Act, the section 307 IPC (of attempt to murder)

and along with the crime of abetment of murder etc.

National Scenario

As per 2011 Census, the national all–age sex ratio (the number of

females for every thousand males) at 940 represents an improvement of seven

points compared with 933 in the 2001 Census. Although this reflects a reversal

of the declining sex ratio in many decades, it is nowhere near the figure of 972

recorded way back in the 1901 Census. However, the "natural sex ratio"

should be above 1000. Socio-cultural factors impinge to distort the natural sex

numbers. According to United Nations, the world estimate of sex ratio in 2000

is 986 females per 1000 males.

Scenario in Lucknow, the Capital of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country with a

population of 19.9 Crore (2011 Census). It is also the fourth largest state in

geographical area covering 9.0 per cent of the country's geographical area.

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Almost all social indicators of the state show that the state stands on 13th or

14th position among the sixteen major States. Bihar and in some cases Orissa,

are the only two states which lag behind U.P. in terms of social development

indicators like medical facilities, teacher-pupil ratio in primary schools, birth

rates, death rate, infant mortality rate, literacy, per capita income,

electrification of villages, per capita power consumption etc. Sex ratio in U.P.

is 912 i.e. for each 1000 males, which is below national average of 940 as per

Census 2011. In 2001 the sex ratio of female was 898 per 1000 males in U.P. In

2011 Lucknow had population of 4,589,838 of which male and female were

2,394,476 & 2,195,362 respectively. Sex-ratio in Lucknow stood at 917 per 1000

male compared to 2001 Census figure of 888.

Genesis of Female Foeticide

A number of cultural, social, economic and political factors influence

the relative benefits and costs of sons and daughters. The factors responsible

for this can be categorised as:

Socio-Cultural

Preference for a son by family and society (as he carries forward the

name of the family, is considered a source of support during old age

and he also performs the last rites at the time of cremation).

Social and familial pressure on women to produce sons.

New Policies initiated by the government like right to property, two

child norm (introduced in Punchayati Raj Act is some states where

people with more than two children are debarred from contesting

election for self-government) and small family norms.

Lower status of women in the society.

Social evil of dowry.

Economic

Child rearing cost vis-a-vis benefits that may accrue when the child

becomes an adult.

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Cost related to marriage, especially in the form of dowry.

Most women lack financial independence.

Political

The issue does not attract the attention of political parties

Weak enforcement of existing policies and laws aimed at curbing the

practice.

Little political interest in bringing innovative policies to deal with the

problem.

Methods

Female foeticide is a two-step practice. The first step involves the

detection of the sex of the unborn baby in the womb of the mother. This could

be done at the behest of the mother or father of both, or under family

pressure. The second step involves a decision taken by the mother or father or

both, under pressure from the family, to have or not have the child.

Some of the common methods of sex determination, before birth as

well as before conception are:

Amniocentesis- In this technique, amniotic fluid is drawn from the

amniotic sac surrounding the foetus in the uterus through a long

needle inserted into the abdomen. Foetal cells present in the fluid help

in determining the sex of the foetus. It is normally performed after 15-

17 weeks of pregnancy.

Chorionic villi biopsy- This refers to the removal of elongated cells

(called villi) of the Chorion, which is the tissue surrounding the foetus,

through the cervix. The tissue cells are tested to determine the sex of

the foetus. This technique enables sex determination between the first

6-13 weeks of pregnancy and abortion can be carried out in the first

trimester itself.

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Ultra-sonography/ultrasonic- Here inaudible (to humans) sound

waves are used to get a visual image of the foetus on a screen.

Normally, it is used to determine the foetal position or abnormalities,

but it can also be used to find the sex if external genitalia of a male

foetus are seen on the screen. It is normally performed around the 10th

week of pregnancy. It is the most commonly and rampantly used

method for sex determination.

Pre-conception techniques to select sex

Ericsson method or (X and Y chromosome sperm separation)-A male

child requires an XY combination of chromosomes. Sperms may have

either X or Y chromosomes, but eggs have only X chromosomes. In this

method, sperms are separated onto those bearing X chromosomes and

those bearing Y chromosomes by filtration when put in a chemical

solution. The faster moving Y sperms penetrate the solution’s denser

bottom layers. The egg is then fertilized with a high concentration of Y

sperms to produce a male.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis- one of the latest technologies to

be used for sex selection, it involves chromosomal analysis of a few

cells taken from a test tube embryo (fertilization is done outside the

uterus) to determine the sex.

Legal Provisions

The main law for prosecuting persons who are engaging in sex

selective abortion is the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and

Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994. The PNDT Act now stands renamed as the

Pre- Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex

selection) Act from 2003.

It prohibits misuse and advertisement of pre-natal diagnostic

techniques for determination of sex of foetus, leading to female

foeticide.

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It permits and regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for

detection of specific genetic abnormalities or disorders and use of such

techniques only under certain conditions and only by the registered

institutions.

It provides for punishment for violation of the provisions given in the

act.

The complaint made by any person should be first given to the

appropriate authority with the notice of not less than thirty days for

proper action and with the intention to make a complaint to the court.

The penalties were made up to 3 years in jail and a Rs. 10,000/- fine for

the first offense and 5 years' imprisonment and Rs. 50,000/- for the

second.

Apart from this law, the following sections from the Indian Penal

Code, 1860 are also important:

When death is caused by a person (Section 299 and Section 300).

Voluntary cause a pregnant woman to miscarry the unborn baby

(Section 312).

Act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to

die after birth (Section 315).

Causing quick death of unborn child (Section 316).

Exposing and abandoning of child below 12 years (Section 317).

Concealing the birth of child by secretly disposing her/his body

(Section 318).

The punishment for these offences extends from two years up to life

imprisonment, or fine or both.

In the chapter 1 (Introduction) the researcher has described the

importance of girl child in the life and its ill-effects on society and country at

large. The researcher has used suitable tables and diagrams to explain the

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significance of girl-child and status of skewed sex-ratio according to the 2011

Census of India, Uttar Pradesh and Lucknow. The researcher has then

focused on the genesis of female foeticide which covers socio-cultural,

economic and political aspects of it and the methods of female foeticide.

Constitutional provisions, legal provisions and policy framework are being

discussed in the chapter.

In the Chapter 2 (Review of Literature) the researcher has presented

the essence of her study of the materials related to the topic. The chapter

‘Review of Literature’ helps the researcher to know the areas where earlier

studies had focused on and certain aspects untouched by them. The issue of

Female Foeticide has gained focus of demographers, social scientists, policy

makers, NGOs in last few decades but going through literature, this problem

of discrimination has never been left untouched. There have been numerous

thought-provoking studies on female foeticide. The writings in all kinds of

literature have always tried to explore the range of socio-economic dynamics

that affect women’s development particularly in context of Indian society on

one pretext or another, as the female children are unwanted or treated as

burden by their parents. Through reviewing the literature, researcher has

tried to study those researches, reports, and evidences which are based on

female foeticide and show the afterwards impact of female foeticide on the

society and country at large. The researcher has focused upon the news and

articles published in the newspaper from time to time highlighting the status

of female foeticide, vulnerable conditions of girls, skewed sex-ratio and efforts

done in this field. Researcher has also presented reports and summary of

various conferences and seminars conducted in relation to female foeticide

and gender-discrimination during her researcher work.

In Chapter-3 (Research Design and Methodology) the researcher has

presented the Social Work Research methods and strategies applied by her for

the exploration of the problem under study. In this chapter the objectives of

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the study and the hypotheses to be tested have been illustrated. Also, the

researcher has presented the research design, the sampling method and the

sources, tools and methods of data collection used in the study.

Objective of the study

An objective is very important for the research study as it makes the

research meaningful and predictable.

The general objective of the study is to aware urban couples about

female foeticide.

The specific objectives of the study are as under:-

1. To assess the knowledge of couples about decreasing sex ratio.

2. To assess the attitude of couples towards female foeticide.

3. To find out the relationship of attitude of couples towards female

foeticide with variables i.e. age, education, religion, occupation,

married for years, family income, type of family, residence and source

of information etc.

4. To focus on the humanist, as well as scientific and rational approach

and a move away from the traditional teachings, which support such a

practice.

5. Empowerment of women so that they can take their own decisions.

6. To increase awareness amongst the people through NGOs and other

organizations.

Hypothesis

The following questions of hypothesis are as under:-

1) Gender-discrimination due to patriarchal roots is responsible for

female foeticide.

2) Low economic status (economic-insufficiency) is responsible for female

foeticide.

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3) Lack of decision-making power in females is responsible for female

foeticide.

4) Lack of sensitivity and downfall in value-system is responsible for

female foeticide.

RESEARCH DESIGN USED IN THE STUDY

Experimental Research Design

According to Vimal Shah the term ‘experiment’ refers to that part of

research in which some variables are controlled while others are manipulated

and their effects on controlled variables are observed.

Experimental research design is simply observation under controlled

conditions.

There are three types of Experimental Research Designs-

a. After only-Experimental Research Design,

b. Before after Experimental Research Design, and

c. Ex-post-Facto Research Design.

The 'Before- After' Experimental Research Design

Under this type of controlled experiment also, first of all the groups are

selected and before experiment and observation is made of these groups.

Then again after the experiment the groups are again observed. The difference

that is observed, before experiment and after the experiment in the groups, is

sought to be caused by the implementation of the programme. It can be

further explained with the help of following diagrams.

BEFORE

MEASUREMENT

X

EXPERIMENTAL

PERIOD

AFTER MEASUREMENT

XA

I STAGE II STAGE III STAGE

XA– X = A (A is the result of the Experiment)

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Similarly in the present study, the researcher has selected six wards as

groups with the help of purposive sampling. Before starting the intervention

process a baseline survey of the selected groups and observation were made.

After the collection of data the researcher implemented the Social Work

Intervention process in the area and measured the result of the experiment

afterwards which has been presented in the Impact Assessment.

The Selection of the Universe and Sampling

Sampling

In this study, the researcher has selected six wards of six zones on the

purposive basis and also selected 100 units from each ward of below 35 years

of urban couples (they have no child or not more than one)in the same

manner through Base-line Survey. The names and ward-numbers are given

below:

Zone Ward Number Ward Name

Zone 1 13 Lalkuan

Zone 2 83 Rajajipuram

Zone 3 27 Niralanagar

Zone 4 52 Gomti Nagar

Zone 5 69 RamjiLal Nagar

Zone 6 104 ChowkKaaliJi Bazar

The researcher has also enlisted the significance of processing and

analysis of data in the scientific study and highlighted the process of

processing and analysis of data which has been used in her research work.

In Chapter-4 (Profile and Child-Related Information of the

Respondents) A respondent’s profile is often used to describe his/her

characteristics and learning needs, to help guide important educational,

social, political and economic decisions for a particular individual, or to guide

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individualized instructional planning. It refers to a personal data of the

respondents.

In a research, profile of respondents keeps an important place in the

entire study. Profile of the respondents is a very important variable to

determine socio-economic and psychological status of the universe in any

social research. We study the age, educational status, economic status,

religion and caste, occupation, marital status and child-related information of

the respondents under the profile of the respondents.

These variables are very important to determine behavioural patterns

of person in the society. The social environment of any community is a key

factor to form attitude, thinking and action of a person. Respondents in this

study are urban couples of below 35 years of age having no child or not more

than one. A well-structured and relevant interview schedule has been used to

collect information from the respondents by using in-depth interview skill

and the major findings are as following:-

There are total 600 urban couples as respondents of the research of

which 23% are males and 77% are females.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 45.66% are in the young age of 26 to 30

years.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 68.5% of the respondents belong to

Hindu religion with 40.14% from General, 32.84% from Other

Backward Castes and 27% from Scheduled Caste.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 49.33% are graduate.

Majority belongs to non-occupational respondents (home-maker)

which account for 52.16%.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 37.63% earn less than ₹ 15,000 per

month.

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Majority of the respondents i.e. 40.16% are newly wedded couples who

have not completed their first year of marriage.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 52.33% got pregnant only once.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 55% have one child and the remaining

45% of the respondents have no child.

Majority of the living child i.e. 60.90% comes in the age group of 0-1

Years of which 51.24% are females and 48.75% are male children.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 92.16% of the respondents reported

that none of their children have died and 7.83% of the respondents

reported that their one or more children have died.

Out of 7.83% of the respondents majority of the respondents i.e. 82.97%

reported that their child/children died within 0-1 year out of which

66.66% were male children and 33.33% were female children.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 95.74% reported that disease like

jaundice, diarrhoea, cholera, high fever etc. was the main cause for the

death of their children. 4.25% of the respondents reported that the

cause for their children’s death was accident/causality.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 62.5% want to have two children of

which 65.06% want to have one male and one female child, 31.73%

want to have both male children and 3.2% want to have only two

children of any sex, be it male or female.

Although majority of the respondents i.e. 60.5% said that they do not

bother about the sex of their first child, be it male or female, yet 35.83%

of the respondents said that they want to have boy as their first child

from which 98.60% of the respondents were of the opinion that after

having a son as their first child they will feel relaxed and socially

secured to some extent because it will minimize the pressure of having

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a son and they will not need to worry about the sex of their second

child. Only 3.66% of the respondents want to have girl child as their

first child.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 52.83% admit that they have detected

the sex of their child of which 69.71% made ultrasound done in their

second pregnancy, followed by 30.59% respondents who made it done

in their first pregnancy and 16.71% of the respondents made it done in

their third pregnancy. This is a very shocking reality revealed by this

research. 26.16% of the respondents have never gone for sex-selective

ultrasound whereas the question was not applicable on the remaining

21% of the respondents as they were the newly married couples and

did not yet conceived.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 52.83% admit that they have detected

the sex of their child from which majority of the respondents i.e.

59.62% made the ultrasound done as their in-laws forced them to do

that. Analysis shows that majority of the women did not take decision

about their own child. Hence the hypothesis that lack of decision-

making power in females is responsible for female foeticide is proved.

Total 6.94% of the respondents (female respondents) said that they

themselves wanted to know the sex of the child and therefore they did

so, from which an overwhelming majority of the respondents i.e.

95.45% were of the opinion that to raise their status in the family they

did so as they wanted to have male child. Our patriarchal roots are so

strong that male’s hierarchical status has been adopted by women in

our social structure, so the hypothesis that gender discrimination due

to patriarchal roots is responsible for female foeticide is proved.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 53.5% said that they will try twice to

have male child. Hence, the hypothesis that gender discrimination due

to patriarchal roots is responsible for female foeticide is proved.

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In Chapter-5 (Family Background and Housing Conditions) the

researcher has made a study of the family background and housing

conditions of the respondents. In the structure of society, family represents

both an institution as well as association. It is the oldest among the other

institutions and associations. Family still forms the backbone of our social

structure. Due to the above reasons, between all institutions and association

of humankind the family is rendered to be the most stable and enduring. It is

the core of all social organization and it plays a vital role in shaping the

personality, attitude and values of the individual due to its significant social,

economic, cultural functions. Thus, to understand and analyze the problems

of the respondents the socio-economic conditions of the family must be

studied. In this part of the chapter the basic characteristic features of the

family are analyzed like size, type, gender distribution, educational status,

occupation and income etc. All these characteristics give the researcher a

better and deep understanding of the problem under study. The study of

housing conditions includes the type of houses of the respondents, the

number of rooms in the houses, presence of toilet, source of drinking water,

status of electrification of the house, existence of bathroom in the house, etc.

Major conclusions drawn from this chapter are as following-

Majority of the respondents i.e. 67.83% belong to nuclear family which

depicts that urban India is slowly shattering and losing its belief in the

joint structure of family.

33.77% of the household population is constituted by youth between

the age group of 21-30 years of which 67.96% are male and 32.03% are

females. It is also noteworthy that there is an imbalance in the sex-ratio

of the household population as there are 59.69% males and 40.30%

females. Therefore, an imbalance in sex-ratio is seen.

Majority of the households i.e. 35.95% of the household are graduate

and only 1.52% of the household are illiterate without the ability to

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read and write. So the educational status of the households in general

is quite fair.

Majority of the household population i.e. 55.87% are married.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 25.97% households are home-maker

which means they are not the earning members of the family and

25.19% of the households are engaged in government service.

The economic status of the majority of respondent’s family is average

with 33.08% of the families has annual income between ₹ 2,00000 – ₹

2,49999.

Approximately half of the respondents i.e. 49.66% live in government

houses.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 47.16% live in middle class proper two

room spaced house.

Government tap is an important source of drinking water for the urban

population which is reflected by 63.88% of the respondents being

dependent on it for drinking water.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 66.16% have separate space for

cooking.

Maximum number of respondents i.e. 96.83% has bathrooms in their

houses which reflect good condition of the urban households.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 97.83% have electricity in their houses.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 96.83% have toilet in their house.

In chapter-6 (Female Foeticide and Influencing Factors), the

researcher has made a study of the awareness-level of the respondents and

the factors which influence female foeticide. The researcher has divided the

chapter into several parts according to the factors and their influence on

female foeticide. The significance and findings of various factors of female

foeticide is described below. The researcher has also made an attempt to

analyze the respondent’s awareness level regarding the legal provisions in

P a g e | 15

this part of the chapter. The details of the chapter and their related findings

are as following-

Female Foeticide and Social Factors

Majority of the respondents i.e. 93.5% reported that they know about

female foeticide from which majority of the respondents i.e. 84.84%

correctly responded that killing of female foetus in the womb is female

foeticide. This shows that the level of knowledge of the respondents is

quite good. Only 6.5% of the respondents did not know what female

foeticide is.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 54.01% get information about female

foeticide from print/electronic media.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 54.18% agreed with that female

foeticide is responsible for decreased sex-ratio from which 86.18% were

of the view that recessive social status of females is the prominent

reason behind the discrimination of girl child. Hence, the hypothesis

that gender discrimination due to patriarchal roots is responsible for

female foeticide is proved. Whereas, 72.03% of the respondents opined

that girls do not bear economic burden, 63.81% respondents gave

reasons that social factors like dowry system etc. is one of the main

reasons of biasness against girl child. Hence, the hypothesis that low

economic status (economic-insufficiency) is responsible for female

foeticide is proved.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 79.67% agreed with the notion that

discriminating behaviour of parents among their children regarding

their sex is the root cause of female foeticide. Here also the hypothesis

that gender discrimination due to patriarchal roots is responsible for

female foeticide is proved.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 69.34% agreed with the fact that

gender-discrimination leads to crime against females.

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Majority of the respondents i.e. 67.55% think family income as the

most effective factor. Hence, the hypothesis that low economic status

(economic-insufficiency) is responsible for female foeticide is proved.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 40.33% responded that it is God who

determine male or female child, following 36.16% of the respondents

who said that wife determines the sex of the child and remaining 23.5%

respondents were correct in their opinion that husband is responsible

for sex-determination of the child.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 66.83% said that they found nothing

wrong in knowing the sex of the unborn child.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 35.16% responded that killing of

someone is against all these aspects i.e. Constitutional rights, human

rights, rule of God.

An overwhelming majority of the respondents i.e. 94.66% agreed with

the fact that society gives priority to male child compared to female

child and so it proves the hypothesis that gender-discrimination due to

patriarchal roots is responsible for female foeticide.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 70.16% reported that they will not go

for ultrasound of sex-detection after the completion of desired family.

29.83% of the respondents said that surely they will try to know the sex

of the unborn child through ultrasound after the completion of desired

family of which 100% of the respondents said that if the foetus found

male they will not abort it and if the foetus found female 75.97% of the

respondents abort it. Only 24.02% of the respondents said that they

will not abort the female foetus. So, the hypothesis that gender-

discrimination due to patriarchal roots is responsible for female

foeticide is proved.

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Female Foeticide and Health

Majority of the respondents i.e. 65.66% responded that birth

registration should be mandatory.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 86.5% agreed with the fact that women

get good post-natal care after delivering a male child.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 66% reported that they have never

gone to abortion and 34% of the respondents reported that they have

gone to abortion. Out of 34% respondents majority of the respondents

i.e. 90.68% have gone through induced abortion whereas, 9.31% of the

respondents’ abortion was spontaneous. 90.68% respondents have

gone through induced abortion of which majority of the respondents

i.e. 60.54% went for abortion when they found the foetus female

whereas, 39.45% of the respondents aborted the child due to some

medical reasons. So, the hypothesis that gender-discrimination due to

patriarchal roots is responsible for female foeticide is proved.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 51.47% aborted the child when they

were 5-6 months pregnant.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 56.5% reported that they did not have

knowledge about PCPNDT act which shows respondents’ ignorance

about the act.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 51% reported that they did not have

knowledge about MTP act which shows respondents’ ignorance about

the act.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 52.94 think that family counselling is

not helpful in preventing female foeticide out of which, 67.80% of the

respondents gave reason behind it that family counselling can change

the attitude & mind-set of the family towards females, 57.57% gave

reason that it will make the family understand the importance of Girl

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Child and 25.37% of the respondents said that family counselling can

give knowledge regarding the impact of imbalanced sex-ratio.

Female Foeticide and Religious & Cultural Factors

Majority of the respondents i.e. 99.5% believe in God of which majority

of the respondents i.e. 51.59% go religious place on special occasions

Majority of the respondents i.e. 53.09% said that they go to religious

place for the fulfilment of their wishes.

Majority of the respondents responded that worship or rituals are not

related to being a child male or female.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 81.66% reported that they have never

gone for help of such people whereas, 18.33% of the respondents

reported that they have sought help of sadhu/maulvi/tantrik to get

male child which shows their high level of superstition.

Legislations & Programs for the Prevention of Female Foeticide and

Encouragement of Birth of Girl-Child

Majority of the respondents i.e. 59% did not know about such policies

which encourage the birth of girl-child whereas, 41% of the

respondents said they know some policies meant for girl-child.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 73.83% opined that more policies for

girl-child should be launched and implemented by the Government

whereas, 26.16% of the respondents said that more policies are not

needed as it cannot change the scenario.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 55.61% of the respondents think that

there is provision to punish doctors for doing sex-determination test.

Only 30.83% of the respondents were correct in their knowledge

regarding the punishable person i.e. doctors, diagnostic centres and

related person are to be punished under the provision of the act.

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Majority of the respondents i.e. 99.64% responded that as per their

knowledge and information no person is punished whereas, 0.35% of

the respondents responded that they know such person who got

punished for doing sex-determination test.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 95.90% of the respondents responded

that the laws are not strictly followed by people, doctors, diagnostic

centres or any other concerned authority.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 96.07% agreed with it that less

importance is given to female foeticide in political premise.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 97.50% agreed with that lack of

political-will is also responsible for female foeticide.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 97.50% agreed with the fact that

political negligence is responsible for improper execution of related

laws.

According to majority of the respondents i.e. 60.42% increased period

and amount of punishment will not be helpful in the prevention of

female foeticide.

Female Foeticide and Value-System

Majority of the respondents i.e. 89.48% think female foeticide as a sin

which shows their strong value-system.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 79.67% regard it as a crime like murder.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 87.70% people were agree with that the

downfall in value system is the resultant of female foeticide. Hence, the

hypothesis that lack of sensitivity and downfall in value system is

responsible for female foeticide.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 87.70% were agree with that the re-

organisation of value-system will decrease female foeticide. Value-

system will sensitize the people regarding female foeticide and

P a g e | 20

humanity. Hence, the hypothesis that lack of sensitivity and downfall

in value system is responsible for female foeticide.

In Chapter-8 (Social Work Intervention and Impact Assessment), the

researcher has illustrated the Intervention process carried by her in the area to

mitigate the problem under study.Professional social workers and social work

institutions have long been involved in the field of girl child and women-

centered issues. Generally speaking, professional social workers have

commitment, knowledge, techniques and skills to deal with human and their

situations. They are trained with humanitarian values and empathy.

Unencumbered by any dogma, they help individuals and groups to improve

overall adjustment between themselves and their social environment. Over

the decades, their professional practice has proved to be efficacious in helping

individuals, groups and communities to tide over their trauma or crisis.

Intervention is an undividable part of social work practice because it is a

professional service, which is based on complete scientific knowledge and

skills. This knowledge and skill clubbed with human relation to assist

individuals alone or in-group to obtain social and personal satisfaction and

independence.

In this study the researcher has set up an objective of making urban

couples aware of female foeticide through social-work intervention. As

mentioned earlier the research has conducted a survey of 600 couples of six

zones namely (100 couples from each zone) of Lucknow District. After the

analysis of the data collected from all the six zones the researcher has

implemented the necessary intervention in all the zones to reduce the

problem and Post-Intervention Assessment has been done afterwards. The

findings are as following-

After social-work intervention majority of the respondents i.e. 67.66%

want to have two children of which 77.33% want to have one male and

one female child, 10.83% want to have both male children and 11.82%

P a g e | 21

want to have only two children of any sex, be it male or female. Before

intervention 62.5% want to have two children of which 65.06% want to

have one male and one female child, 31.73% want to have both male

children and 3.2% want to have only two children of any sex, be it male

or female.

Respondents who responded for any child has increased from 60.5% to

83.83% and respondents for male child have decreased from 35.83% to

10.5% which is a very good symptom of changed thinking-pattern and

attitude of the respondents. A very small rise of 2% can be seen for the

responses regarding opting for girls as their first child which is very

significant.

The knowledge of female foeticide has increased from 93.5% to 100%

which shows that all the respondents become aware with the term

female foeticide.

The responses increased from 84.84% to 100% that killing of female

foetus in the womb is called female foeticide which shows that all the

respondents clearly understood what female foeticide actually is.

The responses regarding female foeticide is responsible for decreased

sex-ratio has increased from 54.18% to 92%.

after the social-work intervention majority of the respondents i.e. 98%

opined that all the mentioned reasons of biasness (religious aspect,

economic aspect, lack of physical security of girls, recessive social

status of females, dowry system, inability to take care of parents after

marriage, etc.) regarding the discrimination of girl child are

responsible. Earlier the percentage of respondents was only 3.61%.

After social work intervention majority of the respondents i.e. 98.16%

agreed with the notion that discriminating behaviour of parents

among their children regarding their sex is the root cause of female

foeticide. Earlier it was 79.67%. Here the hypothesis that gender

P a g e | 22

discrimination due to patriarchal roots is responsible for female

foeticide is proved.

Through social-work intervention awareness was created by the

researcher and majority of the respondents i.e. 99.33% agreed with the

fact that gender-discrimination leads to crime against females.

After the intervention majority of the respondents i.e. 95.5% responded

that all the mentioned factors (age, education, religion, occupation,

family income and family type) affect female foeticide earlier which

was only 2.31%.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 96.83% were correct in their opinion

that husband is responsible for sex-determination of the child. Before

intervention, only 23.5% of the respondents said so.

After social-work intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% said that

did not think it is ethical to know the sex of an unborn child. Earlier,

only 33.16% of the respondents had such thinking.

After the intervention the number of respondents who responded that

killing of someone is against all the mentioned aspects has increased

from 35.16% to 96.33%, followed by 2.16% of the respondents who

opined that it is against the Rule of God which was before intervention

34.5%, whereas, 1.5% of the respondents are of the view that killing

someone is against human rights which was earlier 15.5%.

After the intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% responded that

birth registration should be mandatory in all public and private

hospitals. Earlier, 65.66% of the respondents were in favor of birth

registration.

The impact of social work intervention can be seen on the respondents

that their knowledge about Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic

Techniques Act has increased from 43.5% to 100%.

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After intervention the knowledge about Medical Termination of

Pregnancy Act has increased from 43.5% to 100% which shows that all

the respondents become aware with the act made for medical

termination of pregnancy through which abortion was legalized in

India in certain cases.

After the intervention the number of respondents has increased from

47.05% to 97% who think that family counselling is helpful in

preventing female foeticide.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 98.83% responded that worship or

rituals are not related to being a child male or female earlier it was

53.16%.

After the intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% responded that they

know some policies meant for the encouragement of the birth of girl-

child. Earlier, only 41% of the respondents had knowledge regarding

such policies.

The number of respondents has increased from 73.83% to 93.66% who

opined that more policies for girl-child should be launched and

implemented by the Government whereas, the number of respondents

who responded that more policies are not needed as it cannot change

the scenario has decreased from 26.16% to 6.33%.

After the intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% said that there is

provision to punish doctors, diagnostic centre as well as the concerned

person for doing sex-determination test. Before intervention, only

30.83% of the respondents were correct in their knowledge.

All the respondents i.e. 100% agreed with it that political negligence is

responsible for improper execution of related laws, earlier 97.50% of

the respondents agreed with it.

After the intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% think it as a sin that

shows their strong value-system, earlier, which was 89.48%.

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After the intervention all the respondents i.e. 100% think it as a crime

like murder, before intervention, 79.67% of the respondents thought so.

After the intervention majority of the respondents have increased from

87.70% to 94.5% who agreed with that the downfall in value system is

the resultant of female foeticide. Hence, the hypothesis that lack of

sensitivity and downfall in value system is responsible for female

foeticide.

After the intervention the number of respondents has increased from

87.70% to 94.5% who agreed with that the re-organization of value-

system will decrease female foeticide. Value-system will sensitize the

people regarding female foeticide and humanity. Hence, the

hypothesis that lack of sensitivity and downfall in value system is

responsible for female foeticide.

Suggestions

Education and empowerment of women can be a long-term strategy to

prevent female foeticide. NGOs of the concerned area/state may be

encouraged to promote formation of Self-help groups, organize non-

formal education for adult females and school dropouts, create

employment opportunities for women, etc.

Medical audits are of primary importance. They need to be strictly

enforced so as to check the misuse of ultrasound machines, hence strict

implementation of the PC-PNDT Act by the government.

Special incentives and grants should be given to organisations so as to

facilitate them to take up research and field action projects around the

issue.

Campaigns at the grassroot level should be designed to sensitise

people and generate mass awareness on the issue of female foeticide

and its consequences.

P a g e | 25

The processes through which religious communities are intervening on

the issue is also an area which needs to be studied and documented for

further replication and learning. The religious dimension to the

problem needs special attention.

Schemes that give incentives to families where there is a daughter

needs to be publicised and promoted at all-India level.

Boys need to be educated at an early level with regard to giving respect

and equal regard to girls.

Sensitizing medical professionals/students regarding the adverse sex-

ratio while stressing upon the ethical issues involved in female

foeticide.

Simple methods of complaint registration, accessible to the poorest and

most vulnerable women.

Regular assessment of indicators of status of women in society, such as

sex-ratio, and female mortality, literacy and economic participation.

Males should take initiative and stand up to their own parents when

they start chirping about unwanted female children.

Creating a feminine movement so that women feel a sisterhood

towards each-other and stand up for a woman in a neighbouring house

rather than turn a blind eye.

Providing extra incentives for families that have more than one girl

child. This will help correct the gender balance in a few years.

Young married couples and pregnant women should be given

counselling so that they could cope with the situation, because they are

surrounded by in-laws and neighbours who are pro-female foeticide.

Extensive use of media for the sensitive promotion of a positive image

of women and girls.

To delimit the family size within desirable family composition, couples

are largely opting for sex-selection test must be properly sensitized

P a g e | 26

about its demographic and sociological repercussions and legally sued

under PC-PNDT Act (1994/2003).

The conditional fall of sex-ratio for second-order births if the first-born

is a girl must be curbed by the concerned Government agencies and the

civil society.

To accomplish better results under PC-PNDT Act (1994/2003) an

immediate measures should be to strengthen the inter-sector

coordination among the Department of Health, Women & Child

Development, Rural Development &Panchayati Raj Institutions

including the Civil and Police Administration etc.

Gender-friendly environment in the communities is the need of the

hour. Girl child favourable physical, psychological and social

conditions must be engineered so that parents start treating the girls as

an asset to the family not a burden.

Female foeticide should be treated as a crime and not just a social evil

and therefore the State must take primarily corrective, preventive and

punitive action to address the crime.

Magistrates, DMs/CEOs, Divisional Commissioners should be held

accountable for performances, lapses in enforcing the law.

State Medical Council should take action to suspend/deregister errant

doctors and give wide publicity to this.

Compulsory registration of pregnancies and births will help in

ensuring that unwarranted abortions do not take place.

As foeticide is murder of the unborn child, it should be examined

whether it can be treated as a crime under IPC and brought under the

jurisdiction of Sessions Court.

A website could be developed to disseminate to wider audiences and

flag the names of black-listed organizations/clinics/doctors.

P a g e | 27

There must be better mandatory record-keeping and obligation to

submit full information required under From F. The clinic should be

suspended in any instance of default, until the default is corrected in

conformity with legal requirements. Public notification of such

suspensions should be made.

Lack of awareness of the Act leads medical personnel as well as the

general public to believe that sex determination and foeticide are also

covered under MTP. Therefore education about the provisions of the

Act should be widespread.

Existing PNDT Act involves setting up to too many bodies and it is

difficult for these bodies to interact, coordinate and share information.

There is need to consolidate and merge bodies to allow more cohesive

functioning.

Enforcing of women-specific legislations at the grass root level as an

effective social, cultural and political means need to be strengthened to

reverse the existing sex-ratio among the people.

All the above suggestions can be incorporated within the aegis of the

existing provisions of the PC and PNDT Act. However as a long term and

more permanent measure, the Act needs to be strengthened significantly

through appropriate amendments giving it more teeth and power to

expeditiously book and convict errant medical personnel, increase the levels

of punishment and perhaps even prescribe deterrent measures for members

of the public who indulge in such practices. This may require eventual

amendment of the Act.