My Take on the Gender Issue

Looking at the social side of development in India, it is obvious that India is one of the last nations in the world on a socially progressive level. 2011 was the year of highest mortality among girl children with 914 girls born out of 1000 boys. In a country which prays and worships goddesses for centuries but kills their own girl child why is this act still present? The saddening and disturbing fact that India is still a country in the 21st century which condemn girls and majority look at the female sex as a burden, inspite of education, wide media coverage, information and advertising.

One of the primary reasons for this development to continue is the availability of sex determination clinics which are still illegally present in the country especially in cities, towns spreading to villages and other remote locations where the practice never used to exist. Female foeticide is easier, simpler the offenders get away with this since few laws are against abortion which is still a controversial issue. Another reason for this beastly act is dowry (which sounds more like death) and increasingly prevalent among the rich in today's times. In the past 10 years 20 millions girls have been killed, 50,000 illegal abortions continue every month and despite sex determination being a crime, the business of sex determination clinics exist throughout the country and remain packed with customers happily ready killing their unborn children.

Many parts of India are already feeling the impact of this issue, villages filled with men and boys and not a single woman to be seen. Families unable to find girls have started sounding out the alert. These areas overrun by men leads to violence, gangs, rapes, bride-trafficking added by an unhealthy amount of testosterone and illiteracy. The movie Matrubhomi was a disconcerting movie that represented the reality of this truth. Also the issue of sex selection occurs highest in rich states of Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana where wealthy families exist and encourage this practice. So its the rich that practice and leads to the spread of this disease.

The social system of killing girls in India is highly contradictory where our culture and religion make the common man worship the female goddess and purge his society of girl children.