Killing of Female Fetuses The greatest threats to our contemporary civilization

1. Killing of Female Fetuses The greatest threats to our contemporary civilization

2. Killing of Female Fetuses OR Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of a girl baby

3. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common in areas where cultural norms value male children over female children, especially in western part of Rajasthan. Sex-selective infanticide is killing a child based on the child's sex

4. Sex-selective abortion has been seen as worsening the sex ratio In Rajasthan, affecting gender Issues related to sex compositions of Rajasthani households

5. The use of ultrasound and abortion for sex selection has been banned since 1994 in India, however, there is evidence that such bans are rarely enforced, and numerous dedicated Sex selection clinics operate in many regions of Rajasthan

6. Reasons for sex-selective abortion • A son is often preferred as an 'asset' since he can earn and support the family • A daughter is a 'liability' since she will be married off to another family, and so will not contribute financially to her parents • The burden of raising dowry for a daughter's marriage • Sex-selective abortion is thought to be most common in most of parts in Rajasthan

7. Social Effects • Gender bias can broadly impact the society, and it is estimated that by 2020 there could be more than 25 million young "surplus males" in the country • In the society with an artificial shortage of women, a combination of surplus of males and increased upward mobility of females results in accumulation of unmarried, lower-class males, who tend to be violence-prone

8. Social Effects • Shortage of females has the effect of driving human trafficking and mail-order bride phenomena • There are reports of women from some backward communities of Rajasthan systematically trafficked to other parts and sold into forced marriages • Researchers have expressed concern that prenatal sex selection may reduce the number of families in the next generation

9. Think… Prevention & creating awareness against killing of female fetuses is the prime concern Needs to be curb immediately by an strong and well designed awareness strategy for Preventing Killing of Female Fetuses

10. Prevent…Killing of Female Fetuses • Awareness at wider level • Mobilization & sensitization at community level • Counseling at household level • Vision building with indicators for reducing killing of female fetuses • Strategy formation for the empowerment of women and a strengthening of women’s rights through campaigning against practices such as dowry, and ensuring strict implementation of existing legislation

11. Prevent…Killing of Female Fetuses • Inculcating a strong ethical code of conduct among medical professionals • Simple methods of complaint registration, accessible to the poorest and most vulnerable women • Wide polarization in the media of the scale and seriousness of the practice • Monitoring and resource mobilization strategy • Sensitization mechanism strong remedies to control killing of female fetuses

12. Prevent…Killing of Female Fetuses • Regular assessment of indicators of status of women in society, such as sex ratio, and female mortality, literacy, and economic participation & • Toll free service will be developed to ensure prompt support to the needy population for counseling and motivation

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