Tale of the missing girls
11 Oct 2012 10:27 PM GMT
The alarming story of India’s women continue. Women in India seem to make news for all the wrong reasons. From domestic violence to dowry deaths to female foeticide, it’s an endless retinue of crimes committed against women. In spite of better literacy, prosperity and awareness, the state of Indian women simply does not seem to improve. If there are marginal improvements in aspect of their lives, there are tragic deterioration in another. If less number of them are being killed at birth then more are missing in early childhood or more are being beaten inside the four walls of the room. It is not a happy situation either way.
A recent study, Children in India 2012: A Statistical Appraisal conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation [CSO] shows alarming rates of increase in girls who have gone missing across all age groups in the last decade or so, rather between census 2001 and census 2011. An accompanying report carried in this newspaper says nearly three million girl children are missing compared to two million missing boy children in 2011, compared to 2001 and there are now 48 fewer girls per 1,000 boys than there were in 1981.
Clearly, more girls are getting lost in the haze of poverty, prostitution and street life than before, which does not say too much about the numerous schemes the government is running to help this demography. Of course there could be a number of reasons why girls go missing but the fact that organised and unorganised prostitution and poverty are sucking them in large numbers cannot be doubted. Also, there are other family pressures on them, from early marriage to forced marriages which induces many of them to run away and into perhaps the more seamier sides of life. The other statistic that there are 48 fewer number of girls per thousand compared to boys than in 1981 is intriguing and alarming. So are we to believe that India’s relative prosperity and open economy has actually resulted in more foeticide? Or has the foeticide industry got more sophisticated and safe, so that people are succumbing to its temptations more easily and with more impunity.
One must really go deeper into the facts to find out why is this happening. The need of the hour is for discerning, insightful and reasoned analysis of the indices. So that facts do not end up being facts only and are dealt as crisis of alarming proportions.
A recent study, Children in India 2012: A Statistical Appraisal conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation [CSO] shows alarming rates of increase in girls who have gone missing across all age groups in the last decade or so, rather between census 2001 and census 2011. An accompanying report carried in this newspaper says nearly three million girl children are missing compared to two million missing boy children in 2011, compared to 2001 and there are now 48 fewer girls per 1,000 boys than there were in 1981.
Clearly, more girls are getting lost in the haze of poverty, prostitution and street life than before, which does not say too much about the numerous schemes the government is running to help this demography. Of course there could be a number of reasons why girls go missing but the fact that organised and unorganised prostitution and poverty are sucking them in large numbers cannot be doubted. Also, there are other family pressures on them, from early marriage to forced marriages which induces many of them to run away and into perhaps the more seamier sides of life. The other statistic that there are 48 fewer number of girls per thousand compared to boys than in 1981 is intriguing and alarming. So are we to believe that India’s relative prosperity and open economy has actually resulted in more foeticide? Or has the foeticide industry got more sophisticated and safe, so that people are succumbing to its temptations more easily and with more impunity.
One must really go deeper into the facts to find out why is this happening. The need of the hour is for discerning, insightful and reasoned analysis of the indices. So that facts do not end up being facts only and are dealt as crisis of alarming proportions.
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