Challenging Son Preference: Success Stories and Persistent Challenges in Asia 

By Elina Yohannan 

Son preference remains a persistent and deeply rooted issue in many Asian countries, with serious consequences for women and girls. Although the global sex ratio at birth is around 105 males for every 100 females, several Asian countries have failed to maintain this ratio due to cultural and economic factors.  

INDIA 

In India, the birth of a son is often met with much celebration and excitement, with cries of "Beta hua hai!" (It's a boy!), while a daughter's birth, in many homes, is not always met with the same enthusiasm. This preference for sons is deeply rooted in rigid patriarchal norms and is influenced by various factors. Sons are seen as the ones who will carry on the family lineage, provide financial and emotional support for their parents in old age, and take on major family and religious roles, while daughters are considered weak and in need of protection, and are often viewed as paraaya dhan (someone else's property after marriage). Moreover, the issue of dowry, which has been banned in India since 1961, is still practiced in the form of giving "gifts." 

This preference for sons has resulted in the rise of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide in the country. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, sex-selective abortions in India have contributed to at least nine million female births “missing” between 2000 and 2019. It is predicted that by 2030, there will be approximately 6.8 million fewer girls born in India due to this practice.  

Even though sex-selection is illegal in India and campaigns such as Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl Child) exist to raise awareness about the importance of girls' education and the issue of declining sex ratio, India still has a long way to go to change the deeply ingrained cultural attitudes that continue to favor sons over daughters.  

CHINA 

Like India, China also has a long history of patriarchal traditions, where sons are seen as more valuable than daughters. China’s one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979, has majorly contributed to this and resulted in increased widespread sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. Studies show that in the early 1980s, there were 108 male births to every 100 females, just a little over the natural rate; but by 2000, this ratio saw a jump in the male births to 120, even crossing 130 in some provinces. This resulted in millions of girls “missing” in the country.  

Though the one-child policy is no longer in effect, and the government has made some efforts to address the problem of son preference – including a ban on sex-selective abortion and efforts to promote gender equality, the impact of these policies has been limited. A report shows that between 1980 and 2020, there have been 30-40 million more male births than females who will probably not be able to find brides within the country. 

While some countries in Asia continue to struggle with this issue, some have made significant progress in reducing son preference and its negative consequences. 

SOUTH KOREA  

South Korea is one of the pioneer countries to have made significant strides in reducing son preference. A combination of education, public policies, and urbanization has been key to reversing the trend. During the 1990s, the child sex ratio was 114 boys per 100 girls, but it has now decreased to 104 boys per 100 girls. Legal reforms played a major role in promoting gender equality within households and public life. In the late 1980s, the Family Law saw some pivotal revisions which included equal rights to inheritance for sons and daughters. With the pension reform in the 1990s, urban workers could save for their own retirement instead of depending on their sons to farm the land. The establishment of national health insurance and gradual expansion of pension plans also eroded people’s financial dependence on sons in their old age. 

TAIWAN 

In recent years, Taiwan has also progressed well in addressing the issue of son preference. The government has implemented policies to promote equal opportunities in education and employment. A study showed that the proportion of desiring more boys than girls declined from 27% in 1992 to 12% in 2002. The study also showed that education reduces son preference and leads to a higher degree of gender neutrality. 

Though these are tremendous developments, there is much that still needs to be done to address the root causes of son preference in Asia, and to promote basic human rights for girls and women, gender equality, public health, and socioeconomic growth.  

In India, the Vanishing Girls campaign actively works to fight against sex-selective abortions and save the lives of thousands of girls who are killed in the womb every day. With efforts to raise awareness and advocate for the rights and fundamental freedoms of the unborn girl child, the campaign aims to protect and promote the inherent dignity of daughters, which should not be any lesser than a son’s. 

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Elina organizes trainings and events to build network with community leaders, lawyers, and students in South Asia. She also coordinates operations for Areté Academy Asia – a training programme for young professionals & students. Elina earned her master's degree in social work from Madras School of Social Work, specializing in Community Development.  

Rights of the Unborn Child

By Adv. Loreign Ovung

Child rights are imperative in today's society, especially in terms of protecting the unborn child in the mother's womb. While there is a general belief that life begins at birth, the significance of the womb where life originates is often overlooked. We may provide the utmost attention and every possible facility to a newborn baby to ensure their happiness, but what about an unborn baby still inside the mother's womb? Should they be considered a person and rewarded the same rights as a normal human being?

Unborn children rights are the ethical rights or legal privileges of the human foetus under regular and common law. The term foetal rights came into wide use after the point of interest case Roe v. Swim that legitimized foetus removal in the United States in 1973. The idea of foetal rights has developed to incorporate the issues of maternal medication and liquor abuse. The just worldwide bargain particularly handling foetal rights is the American Convention on Human Rights which conceives the privilege to life of the baby. While global human rights instruments do not have a general incorporation of the embryo as a man for the motivations behind human rights, the baby is allowed different rights in the constitutions and common codes of a few nations. (Legal Status of Unborn Children in India - LawBhoomi)

In India, while there is no specific legislation or statute that specifically defines the rights and the position of an unborn child under the law, statutes like the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 recognize and mention the unborn and have defined it to be a legal person by fiction. Under this, the state can and is required to interfere in inheritance matters once the unborn child has attained the stage of viability. As such, as per the Medical Termination of pregnancy (MTP) Act, abortions after 20 weeks pose certain legal restrictions. The right to life of a foetus is covered under Article 21 of the Constitution. Hence, the parens patriae power of the state extends to protecting the life of the foetus from the time it becomes viable, especially after the period of 20 weeks. The State’s parens patriae responsibility is to protect the life and liberty of those who are unable to look after themselves, including the voiceless, defenceless child in the womb.

In India, an unborn child, including a female foetus, does not have legal rights as such, but is protected under certain laws. The Indian Constitution provides for equality before the law and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act of 1994 prohibits sex-selective abortions and makes it illegal to determine the sex of a foetus for non-medical purposes. 

It is also worth noting, the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act of 1994 targets the practice of female foeticide, and it is illegal to conduct sex-selective abortions. However, it's still a major issue in India and more efforts are needed to ensure that the law is enforced and that female foetuses are given the same protection and value as male foetuses.

The right of an unborn infant is a subject of a lot of debates, and it is debated whether an unborn child should get the same right a person should get. The rights of an unborn child are well recognized in various legal contexts which are as under:  

From the above context, after discussing the rights given to the unborn child for the protection of the life and property rights, it is clear that even the unborn child has certain rights of the unborn child. The unborn foetus should be considered as a normal person and should be made entitled to every right which a normal person is entitled to. Laws should be amended to ensure that the foetus is allowed to develop itself in a healthy environment and there should not be any harm to the life of the foetus.

The Vanishing Girls campaign is an initiative of ADF India that aims to eradicate sex-selection in our lifetime and save the lives of thousands of girls who are selectively aborted every day. We are advocating for the strict enforcement of the Prohibition of Sex-Selection Act.  

Loreign holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Calcutta and is also law graduate from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University with an experience of over 12 years. She has previously worked for a commercial law firm, handling litigation matters in corporate law.

Why India’s latest sex ratio of 1021 girls per 1000 boys is only a partial win

The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data for 2019-21 indicates that India has more females than males (1021 females per 1000 males), but ironically, also points towards a slightly improved yet dangerously skewed sex ratio at birth – 929 females per 1000 males. 

The report also highlights that the states of Jharkhand (899), Telangana (894), Odisha (894), Haryana (893), Rajasthan (891), Tamil Nadu (878), Himachal Pradesh (875), Goa (838), Chandigarh (838), and Daman & Diu (817) show fewer than 900 girls being born for every 1000 boys. Kerala shows the sharpest decline with respect to sex ratio at birth – falling 96 points from a robust 1047 girls per 1000 boys in 2015-16 to 951 in 2019.  

While it is a commonly known fact that naturally, more males are born than females in the human species, the sizeable gap between the number of boys and girls born in India clearly points towards the prevalence of the practice of sex-selective abortion. Couple that with the decline in India’s Total Fertility Rate, and we may face even fewer girls being both conceived and born.  

India has implemented the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 that has illegalised sex-selection, both before and after conception. This Act, although a step in the right direction, is by no means enough by itself to curb this inhuman practice.  

Law and Culture must work together to make people realise the morbid future that female foeticide will plunge the nation into, and ensure that this evil is eradicated not only in practice, but from people’s mindset. Then only, will every Girl Child conceived will be guaranteed L.I.F.E. (Love, Inheritance, Freedom, Equality). Then only will the country truly enjoy stability and development in all aspects. 

Raising awareness is critical right now.  

To combat the evil of sex-selective abortion, ADF India’s Vanishing Girls campaign works with several like-minded allies, state government bodies, public prosecutors, legal and civic bodies, social activists, medical professionals and ASHA workers to provide legal support as well as training to ensure relevant laws are effectively implemented to protect the women and the unborn girl child. 

Our training focuses on:  

Our legal experts would be glad to collaborate with you and organise free legal trainings for your organisation, church group, school, college, etc. to raise awareness about sex-selective abortion and empower the attendees in taking a strong stand against it.  

To know more about organising trainings with Vanishing Girls, you could:  

Read more about our past trainings here.

In a society where raising girls is considered ‘a lot of work’, we must not shy away from the hard work necessary to ensure L.I.F.E. to her

The year was 1973. Some elders of a nomadic Rajasthani community considered the situation of a ‘sapera’ (snake-charmer) who was away for work, and his wife, who lay unconscious after giving birth to a baby girl – the seventh child of the family. They decided that the girl (born only a few hours ago) would be ‘a lot of work’. So, rather than giving her her rightful place at her mother’s bosom, they saw it fit to dig a hole and bury her alive. 

But the girl was rescued, and she survived. Her father fought for his daughter’s right to live, and readily chose to be abandoned by the community. The girl went on to take the folk-dance tradition of the Kalbaliya community to the world stage.

In 2016, Gulabo Sapera was awarded the coveted Padma Shri for her art. She brought recognition to the same community that didn’t see any value in her! 

Gulabo was fortunate that her parents, especially her father, were supportive in the face of a society that considers girls as ‘a lot of work’. But there are many who are not that fortunate and neither find support nor find the L.I.F.E (Love, Inheritance, Freedom, and Equality) that they deserve. 

The statistics are staggering, and yet there has been little to no reduction in the number of sex-selective abortions in the country. A 2021 ToI article pegged the number of convictions under the PCPNDT Act as only 614 over the past quarter of a century!  

Meanwhile, the girl child continues to suffer the consequences of being considered a liability and a burden to her family in our society, even before she is born. 

To combat the evil of sex-selective abortion, ADF India’s Vanishing Girls campaign works with several like-minded allies, state government bodies, public prosecutors, legal and civic bodies, social activists, medical professionals and ASHA workers to provide legal support as well as training to ensure acts have been implemented to protect the Girl Child are implemented effectively and adhered to strictly. 

Our training focuses on: 

Our legal experts would be glad to collaborate with you and organise free legal trainings for your organisation, church group, school, college, etc. to raise awareness about sex-selective abortion and empower the attendees in taking a strong stand against it. 

To know more about organising trainings with Vanishing Girls, you could: 

Read more about our past trainings here: vanishinggirls.in/trainings/ 

Art imitates LIFE - How a 2022 film FINALLY opens the mainstream discussion on sex-selective abortion

Updated on 15 July 2022

Divyang Thakkar’s directorial debut Jayeshbhai Jordaar did not make big splashes with its release on 13th May 2022. The film also received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. Though with flaws, this social dramedy deserves appreciation for attempting to draw the attention of mainstream media to a topic rarely discussed – sex-selective abortion.

Set in a village in Gujarat, the film follows the quest of a renegade couple (portrayed by Ranveer Singh and Shalini Pandey) to save their unborn girl child’s life from their own family, especially the patriarch (played by Boman Irani).

Despite Thakkar declaring, even before its release, that the film was “designed primarily as an entertainer”, the team seems to have done a fair bit of research on the topic. The film ties together a lot of underlying themes, practices, norms, and notions in the journey of the main characters.

Here are five moments from the film that highlight the inhuman practice of son-preference.

And yes, spoiler alert!

#1: How ultrasound technicians communicate the sex of the baby

(Copyright: Yash Raj Films / Amazon Prime)

Sex-selective abortion has been illegalised as per the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. Yet, many technicians have found creatively secret ways of indicating the sex of the unborn child. In the movie, the doctor (portrayed as largely well-meaning) indicates to the father (Ranvir Singh) that his baby will be a girl by simply saying “Jai Mata Di”. This is one of the most common ways used by technicians to communicate the sex of the baby.

#2: The pregnant wife feels duty-bound and guilty that she cannot “give the family an heir”

(Copyright: Yash Raj Films / Amazon Prime)

In many parts of India, the onus of birthing a male heir lies on the mother. This cultural notion has seeped so deep in the psyche of people that sometimes the woman feels guilty and responsible for not fulfilling the family’s expectation. It is sad to see how Mudra considers it her inherent duty to produce a son – something that is not in her control. Upon finding out that she is pregnant with a girl again, she despairingly asks her husband to leave her.

#3: A village that learns the hard way to appreciate and respect girls

(Copyright: Yash Raj Films / Amazon Prime)

The first episode of Aamir Khan’s 2012 show Satyamev Jayate, highlighting female foeticide, featured a village near Kurukshetra, Haryana where, due to an extremely skewed sex ratio, the men were unable to find a mate to marry. The village of Laadopur in Jayeshbhai Jordaar is loosely based on the village from the show, where the villagers have now fully realised the horrors stemming from sex-selective abortion. This also mirrors the probable condition of society at large, which can be adversely affected if the sex ratio continues to skew further. According to UNICEF, “Seven thousand fewer girls are born in India each day than the global average would suggest, largely because female foetuses are aborted after sex determination tests”.

#4: BIOLOGICAL FATHERS (not mothers) are responsible for the sex of the baby

(Copyright: Yash Raj Films / Amazon Prime)

Elementary biology lessons teach us that the father’s genes decide whether you will have sons or daughters. It is utterly illogical and unreasonable to blame the mother for the sex of the child.

#5: Girls should be seen as heirs and inheritors as much as boys

(Copyright: Yash Raj Films / Amazon Prime)

Culturally, daughters inherit the values, the culture, the traditions, and beliefs of their parents. They play an important part in imparting the same to future generations as daughters, mothers, wives, grandmothers, among other roles.

Legally, inheritance laws in India recognise that daughters are entitled to inheritance as much as sons.

GET INVOLVED

There is an urgent need to end the practise of sex selective abortions in India. Get involved in the Vanishing Girls campaign and host a film screening in your community to get a conversation started.  Write to us to let us know how we can help.

Or maybe you know someone who is being forced to undergo sex-selective abortion? We are a team of legal experts that can help. Reach out to us here.

Dear Fathers, your daughters inherit more than genes from you

17 June, 2022

We’ve all heard it – children attributing talents, temperament, mannerisms and physical features to their fathers. While reading this, many of you might even be led to think about all the things you have inherited from your father. That’s how we have been created. But inheritances are not just limited to facial, physical and behavioral legacy. The one we want to draw your attention to, on the occasion of Father’s Day, is legal legacy, or legal inheritance. 

The Indian Constitution guarantees gender equality before the law. Article 15 prevents the state from discriminating against any citizen of India or violating their equal rights on the basis of race, caste, religion, class, or sex etc. This equality cannot be achieved if women and girls are not economically independent. The right to inheritance is an important agency that empowers women and girls to secure this independence.  

India does not have any uniform law regarding property ownership and inheritance rights of women, which means the law in matters pertaining to inheritance and sharing of property differs for people from different faiths. 

Equal property rights of sons and daughters were recognised after the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 which stated that a daughter will have equal ownership in her father’s property even after she gets married. Prior to the amendment, daughters could only be ‘members’, not ‘coparceners’ (individuals who have a legal right to their ancestral property by birth). While coparceners could ask for partition and share of the property, members couldn’t. Once the daughter gets married, she stops being a member and therefore she loses her right to the share and maintenance of her father’s property. 

Landmark Judgements  

In many families across the country, strong patriarchal traditions have translated into fear of violence by their male relatives, preventing women from fighting for their inheritance rights. It has been 18 years since the amendment of The Hindu Succession Act (2005), but a lot of women, even educated ones, are in the dark about their inheritance rights.  

Here are 3 things every father/parent can do now to safeguard their daughter’s inheritance: 

  1. Stay informed on the different laws that apply to you as per your faith or custom 
  1. Draft a will. It is the best way to pass on assets. While nominations help in transferring movable assets like bank deposits or insurance policies, a will takes legal precedence over a nomination. Get a probate, if required, as it’s needed in some states 
  1. Talk to your daughter, as well as many others, about their inheritance rights. Spreading awareness about these rights is extremely important 

ADF India’s Vanishing Girls campaign is calling for proactive efforts by the Centre and state governments to enforce every daughter’s right to inheritance. Let’s move towards a future where daughters can freely claim their legal inheritance just as they claim other inheritances from you. 

YouTube disables DIY sex-determination videos after ADF India allied lawyers intervene 

Updated on 18 May, 2022 

Three months ago, YouTube took down several videos promoting gender-biased sex-selection after ADF India allies intervened. 

Targeted towards Indian married couples, these videos offered information on how to detect the sex of the foetus. It also endorsed and facilitated the indirect sale of gender determination kits/products. 

The fact that YouTube, which is owned by Google, allowed unrestricted streaming of content on gender-biased sex selection stands in clear violation of the Supreme Court orders in the case of Sabu Mathew George v. Union of India, (2018) 3 SCC 229. 

These videos further enable the viewers to gain information to circumvent the legislative intent underlying the restrictions of Section 22 of the PCPNDT Act, 1994. 

Addressing these issues, ADF India allied lawyers worked on a written complaint with Girls Count, one of ADF India’s Vanishing Girls campaign partners, and submitted it to Ms. Vidushi Chaturvedi, Former Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare on 12 December, 2020. The same was brought to the notice of the Nodal Agency, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi via email on 6 January, 2021. Subsequently, pursuant to the above, the Nodal Agency had sought clarifications from Google’s legal team. They responded to the complaints with clarifications via email on 7 February, 2022 and a few videos were accordingly disabled access from the country domain. 

However, some of these YouTube videos still continue to circulate in contempt of the guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Additionally, e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Dessertcart also advertise similar sex determination products, ready to be shipped in India.  

ADF India allied lawyers are working on a formal complaint to the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare requesting to file a contempt towards the online content violations, against the Supreme Court orders in the case of Sabu Mathew George v. Union of India, (2018) 3 SCC 229, on behalf of the Ministry of State for Health and Family Welfare to ensure that the mandate of the PCPNDT Act, 1994 is scrupulously followed.   

LEGAL AID AND PREGNANCY HELPLINE 

ADF India provides free legal assistance through our panel of allied lawyers to women whose unborn girl children face in any way a hindrance to L.I.F.E (Love, Inheritance, Freedom, Equality). To know more, please visit www.adfindia.org/legal-aid.  

You may also call the pregnancy helpline at 0444 631 4300 or visit www.pregnancyhelpline.in 

SUPPORT  

We invite you to join us in our efforts to eradicate sex-selection in our lifetime and save the lives of thousands of girls who are aborted every day. To support our work, donate here. 

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Vanishing Girls is a campaign initiated by ADF India to raise awareness against the practice of sex-selective abortions and to advocate for effective implementation of the Pre Conception Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. 

Raise Your Hand

25th November is celebrated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. At first thought, one can think of only two topics that comprise Violence against Women: domestic violence and rape - and (unfortunately) many times, they happen together. But when you think deeper about it, and realise how prevalent this issue is in our country, across classes, you understand that SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION IS VIOLENCE TOO!

It is the first (and the last) experience of violence for many unborn girl children. Their sex is illegally detected and they breathe their last even before their first cry. And it's not just an act of brutal violence against the child, but the mother as well, as her body goes through the unnatural process of abortion, which, in many instances, is absolutely against her will, and wreaks havoc on her physical and mental health.

And this heinous and diabolical practice of SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION is what ADF India's Vanishing Girls campaign advocates and fights against.

Here's what Vanishing Girls is asking you to do through the 16 days between 25th Nov & 10th December to raise awareness about SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION as violence against women.

We want you to get on your social media network, on IG, reels, FB, WhatsApp statuses, and #RAISEYOURHAND.
Raising one's hand is not just a metaphor for violence, but a way of voicing your opinion.

SO FOLLOW THESE STEPS
1. Draw an orange female icon symbol on your hand (Orange is UN's colour of choice for the observance) or us this Instagram filter
2. Get creative with what reel you choose to show that symbol: take on any trend that's floats your boat (we're sending some references)
3. Post it on IG, FB using #RaiseYourHand
4. Tag @Save_Our_VanishingGirls, and we'll repost your content

How Uttar Pradesh's Proposed Law Would Impact The Birth Of Girls

August 2021

The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recently announced that it would enact the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021, which is purportedly aimed at addressing the issue of overpopulation. However, such a law, if enacted, would undoubtedly have a fatal impact on baby girls in the state. 

The draft Bill proposes to bar people with over two children from contesting local body elections, applying for, and getting promotion in government jobs and availing government subsidies, including government food rations at subsidized rates. Similar laws and policies also exist in eight other Indian states namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand. 

However, far from making development accessible to all citizens of India, such coercive laws and polices can result increased sex-selective abortion and female infanticide, given the deep-rooted and overwhelming preference for male children.  

A 2020 study by Nirmala Buch, a former senior IAS officer, found that the adoption of a two-child policy by states for panchayat elections resulted in a rise in sex-selective abortions; men divorced their wives to run for local body elections and families even gave up children for adoption to avoid disqualification in the election.

Situation in Uttar Pradesh

The state of Uttar Pradesh already has very poor child sex ratios.

As per the 2011 Census, Uttar Pradesh’s sex ratio for the overall population is 902 girls for every 1000 boys. As the per the Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2017 (SRS) released by the Census office in 2019, the child sex ratio had dropped to a dismal 878 girls for every 1000 boys in the state. 

A 2020 study by academicians from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia predicted that highest deficits in female births will occur in Uttar Pradesh, with a cumulative number of missing female births of 2 million from 2017 to 2030.

The introduction of coercive measures will only increase this number exponentially.

By penalizing the birth of additional children, such population control policies will result in families taking extreme measures to ensure the birth of a son, including choosing sex-selective abortions.

This is apparent in even the suggestions received by the UP law commission, that permission be granted to have more than two children if the two children are daughters. These suggestions from the public clearly reveals the bias that exists against female children. 

A 2021 article in the Lancet, noted that “...sex-selective abortion appeared to be more pronounced for third-order births than for second-order births after an earlier daughter or daughters. Sex-selective abortion continued to be more common in richer and more educated families than in poorer and less educated families, in contrast to differences in childhood survival and health-care access. The main determinant of missing female births in second-order and third-order births was an earlier daughter or daughters.” 

The Way Forward 

Researchers have repeatedly highlighted the need to strengthen policies that advocate for gender equity to counter the rise in sex selective abortions. To overall social development and a better standard of living, especially for the women, the governments should instead focus of education, ensuring no child marriages, access to contraceptives, and opportunities for employment for men and women.  

However, for real change in the culture each of us need to ensure that we pledge to save our #VanishingGirls by giving them LIFE – Love, Inheritance, Freedom and Equality.

We invite you to join the Vanishing Girls Campaign by signing the Pledge and supporting our work to bring legal awareness to women.

Interview With Dr. Ganesh Rakh - A Doctor On A Mission To Save The Girl Child

Dr. Ganesh Rakh runs a hospital in Pune, Maharashtra with a unique mission to save as many girl children as he can. In the past decade since he launched Mulgi Vachva Abhiyan (Marathi for "campaign to save the girl child"), Dr. Rakh and his team have delivered over 2,000 baby girls without charging any medical fee.

ADF India had the honor to interview Dr. Ganesh Rakh and hear from him as part of its Vanishing Girls (VG) campaign.

VG: What is the inspiration or motivation behind what you do?

Dr. Rakh: The biggest challenge for a doctor is to inform the family of a patient’s death. I used to be equally worried when I had to tell them that a girl was born. The relatives’ faces would turn sullen, the mother would start crying, and sometimes they even refuse to pay the bills. They would be so disappointed. On the other hand, male baby births were welcomed with jubilation and distribution of sweets! This is when I decided that I would waive off the fee if a girl is born in our hospital. Like how a male birth was welcomed, we cut cake, distribute sweets and celebrate the birth of the girl.

VG: What would you say is the root cause of daughter aversion or female feticide in India?

Dr. Rakh: In the past 10 years, India has lost over 630 lakh girls because of son preference*. This is because of a combination of many things. We hear in the news of 3–4-month-old baby girls being raped. The violent incidents against women and girls have shown that India is not a safe place for them. Parents assume that from birth to marriage and even after, there is much stress and tension associated with bringing up a daughter. From the moment a girl is born, parents worry about the dowry they’d have to arrange for her marriage. After marriage, they worry that she might give birth to a daughter. It is a vicious cycle! Instead of worrying, we should come up with ways to empower her so that she can stand on her own and not be bogged down by outdated traditions.

I used to think that female feticide was a rural problem, but I learnt that it was more common in the cities amongst middle- and upper-class societies. It is sad to see a high level of sex-selective abortion taking place even in other countries wherever the India population is high. Daughter aversion is an evil mindset in Indian society that needs to be uprooted. Only then will we see effective change.

VG: Through the Vanishing Girls campaign, we often share positive stories so that we can inspire people to do the same. Can you tell us how your work has impacted the families of the baby girls who were delivered in your care?

Dr. Rakh: It is a joy for me when parents pay me a visit to tell me that their daughters are doing well and accomplishing wonderful things. They tell me that they are glad they did not go through with the abortion because now their daughters bring much comfort and joy to them.

VG: How important has your family been to your work in this journey?

Dr. Rakh: I have a young daughter, Tanisha. Every baby girl I deliver or any young girl I get to help, I view them as my own daughter. My wife, Trupti, has always supported me despite all the challenges we faced. She has stood beside me and managed the hospital superbly all these years. Without them, it would have been impossible.

VG: What is your message for other doctors?

Dr. Rakh: As long as there is a demand for sons over daughters, the industry will always find a way to meet this need. There are many people willing to pay any amount to have a son and no law will be able to end this greed unless there is a collective change in our mindset. Committing the crime of sex-selective abortion is equally evil as murder. I urge doctors to shoulder the responsibility by understanding the gravity of the problem and choosing to save the girl child if faced with such an opportunity.

VG: Has the current covid pandemic led to an increase in sex-selective abortion?

Dr. Rakh: I believe so because the medical fraternity is occupied with tackling the pandemic. The census which was supposed to be released this year is also delayed because of Covid. When the Government publishes the report, maybe in a few years’ time, we will know the real numbers.

VG: We work with various influencers and artists to raise awareness on the topic of sex-selection. Do you think their role is important to fight this battle?

Dr. Rakh: Celebrities and influencers or artists with large number of followers on social media obviously have the capacity to impact people’s thoughts and actions. It is encouraging to see many of them use their platform to do good. If they share the message of saving the life of the girl child, even if one girl is saved, that is progress. Who knows? That girl may grow up to be a Prime Minister.

VG: Doctor, thank you for giving us your time. We are inspired by your story and your work. How can people support you or donate towards your work?

Dr. Rakh: It is not only I who can do such work. If my story has inspired you even a little bit, my only request is that you do what you must do in your own field or region. If everyone can shoulder the responsibility to save the lives of our baby girls, we can win the battle against sex-selection.

As part of the Vanishing Girls campaign, ADF India regularly conducts training for ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers and seminars with doctors to raise awareness against the practice of sex-selective abortions and to advocate for effective implementation of the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.

*Economic Survey 2017-18