Women’s rights activism in India can literally be a matter of life and death. Despite the fact that India is the world’s largest democracy, being a woman, from an early age can automatically mark people for death. Some parts of the country still value male children to such a degree that couples will have children until they have a boy, or more ominously, will abort any female child, or starve female infants.
Parts of the nation still see women children as a financial drain who will eventually cost the family a dowry when they are finally married off. The practice of this female genocide is grim and rooted in reality.
India’s Growing Lack of Women
Dowries are officially illegal in India, but the practice still persists. Therefore, any given family has an economic incentive to have as many male children as possible and to have no female children.
Curiously, a device that was developed to promote fetal health is used to make sure that women have no female children. People use ultrasound to determine if a female child will be born and may convince a family to abort it.
A woman named Rehka told BBC News South Asia that when she found out was pregnant with twin girls her mother-in-law pressured her to have the fetuses aborted. She added, "There's no happiness when a girl is born. They say the son will carry forward our lineage, but the daughter will get married and go off to another family."
Young girls are often subjected to physical abuse from which they go to hospitals and die.
One of India’s major cities, New Delhi, has a ratio of about 850 girls under seven for every 1,000 boys.
Such a practice is ultimately self-defeating as reducing the number of girls will ultimately reduce the number of men.
Several campaigns have been started to change things in India.
50 Million Missing Women
The 50 Million Campaign bases its name on a demographic analysis of the number of girls who have been aborted or killed in India.
The campaign acknowledges that while laws have been passed to protect the lives of girls, the practices and attitudes that reinforce them still exist.
To that end the campaign is looking for volunteers to talk about the issue to anybody who will listen. According to the campaign’s website:
"We are seeking volunteers who can make 20-30 minute presentations on The 50 Million Missing Campaign and the fight against female genocide (femicide) in India. We want these presentations made everywhere — in schools, colleges, universities, for women’s groups and other organizations, or even for a party of small friends at home."
The campaign hopes that if people dare to speak out, the genocide will stop.
Sources:
- 50 Million Campaign (n.a.) Official Website
- "India's unwanted girls" (May 20, 2011). BBC News South Asia.
Jon Pike - Pike is a Ph.D. in communication and writes about activism and popular culture topics for Suite101.
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