WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR'S GARDEN: THE GROWING - CICRED

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S. AGRAWAL - S. UNISA
higher death rates among girls by exploring the role of various characteristics
of women such as their childhood experience, autonomy level,
and quality of married life. The study shows that there exist significant
sex-selective discriminatory mechanisms against the girl child after
conception and during her childhood. The study has demonstrated the
extent of gender discrimination in child immunization. Extreme discrimination
by women sometimes results in sex-selective abortions.
Women who had adverse childhood experiences (in terms of discrimination
in all spheres including childhood status, food, education, mobility
etc.) and presently suffer from high marital instability or dissatisfaction
are more prone to discriminating against girl children from
conception through childhood. The case studies also illustrate the guilt
some women may feel about their discriminatory behaviour.
The imbalance in the sex ratio reflects the spread of modern
medical technology, particularly ultrasound examination that allows
Indian couples to indulge in a cultural preference for sons by using
abortions to avoid the birth of girls. Property rights, patrilineal descent,
and patrilocal marriage are the main sources of gender discrimination.
Some feel that deep-seated change is necessary to alter parents’ views
about the value of sons. Others view the issue of dowry as the key to
this problem. 6 In India, social workers and scholars are debating the
ethical issue of sex selection and the urgent need to eliminate this
practice. Son-preference should be addressed at the grass-root level by
including culturally sound solutions. These include raising women’s
status in society and discouraging couples from aborting female foetuses.
Changing the mindsets of people towards a son preference is the
real solution.
The health sector also has to play more positive role in Haryana.
More efforts are required to immunize the female child. It has been
found that women exposed to mass media are experiencing significantly
less abortion. So, exposure to mass media should be made more
effective in rural Haryana by incorporating the health consequences
related to late and frequent abortion on the part of women in addition
to its legalization. This will help the women to become aware of the
hazards of abortion. The negative effects of sex-detection technologies
and abortion after the first trimester should be vigorously publicized in
rural Haryana. Stronger messages are required to state that women
should not be blamed for the birth of a female child, as husbands are
6 Giving and taking dowry has become a major status symbol in Haryana as the
economic status of households improves. Social marriages or group marriages as
arranged by NGOs may help to some extent to overcome the consequences of the
dowry inflation.