Child sex ratio

According to civil registration system released by the office of the registrar general of India Child sex ratio at birth continues to worsen in India.

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Context: According to civil registration system released by the office of the registrar general of India Child sex ratio at birth continues to worsen in India.
What is child sex ratio? In India, the Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males in the age group 0–6 years in a human population
What has been the child sex ratio over a period of time? Child sex ratio at birth continues to worsen, falling over a period.

  • According to civil registration system released by the office of the registrar general of India.2011 – 909, 2013- 898, 2014- 887.
  • While according to sample registration survey the child sex ratio at birth is 914 in 2011, 927 in 2001.

The data of sample registration survey is considered more accurate than the data of civil registration because the coverage of sample registration is more wide.

What is the spatial pattern of sex ratio across India?
  • According to civil registration survey, Lakshadweep with 1043, Andaman and Nicobar 1031 and Arunachal Pradesh 993 are some of the best performing states
    • Manipur 684, Rajasthan 799 and Tamil Nadu 834 fare the worst.
  • According to the sample registration survey the spatial pattern of child sex ratio according to 2011 census is as:
    • Best performing states: Arunachal Pradesh- 972, Mizoram -970 and Chhattisgarh- 969
    • Worst performing states: Haryana – 834, Punjab – 846, Jammu and Kashmir – 862.
What are the reasons for low child sex ratio in India? Despite legal provisions, incentive-based schemes, and media messages the child sex ratio is declining. Across the country, bridging class, caste divides; geography sex ratio is on a decline.

Causes of skewed child sex ratio:-

  • Patriarchal societies in most parts of India have translated their prejudice and bigotry into a compulsive preference for boys and discrimination against the girl child.
  • Patriarchy has led to neglect of nutrition, health care, education, and employment for girls.
  • Medical technology (like amniocentesis and ultrasonography), employed in the prenatal period to diagnose genetic abnormalities, are being misused in India for sex selective abortions leading to female feticide.
    • Violations go unpunished with very few cases being booked and a zero conviction rate.
    • collusion between people, the medical fraternity and the administration has resulted in the worsening of the sex ratio and failure of the Act to make a difference.
  • Decrease in family size increases preference for male child.
  • Dowry system:- huge dowry that is paid by the bride family is an economic burden for the family and hence preference for male child
  • Marked improvements in the economy and literacy rates do not seem to have had any impact on this index. The availability of new technology and its easy access for the urban, wealthy and the educated have worsened the trend and harmed the status of women in Indian society.
  • Everyday casual and hurtful misogyny — gendered language, sexist innuendo, stereotyping and jokes, small institutional inequities, sexualisation of society encouraged by advertising, media and capitalism that actually undergird violence of all types against women.
What are the implications of the low child sex ratio? Declining sex ratio is a silent emergency. But the crisis is real, and its persistence has profound and frightening implications for society and the future of humankind.

  • -Stopping of family lineage:- Since it would become difficult to find bride for marriage, most men would remain unmarried.
  • -Crimes against women will increase:- Crimes against women are higher in societies with adverse sex ratio than in society with good sex ratio. EX Punjab and Haryana with skewed child sex ratio has more crimes against women than seen in Kerala or Tamil Nadu that have good sex ratios.
  • -Discrimination and neglect of girl child can lead to low self-esteem, lifelong deprivation and exclusion from the social mainstream.
  • -Violence and trafficking of poor women and forced polyandry are seen in some regions with markedly skewed ratios.
  • -Skewed child sex ratio implies the number of women who enter the reproductive age would be less and in the long run there would be less population growth rate.

Thus the implications are not only gender justice and equality but also social violence, human development and democracy

What are the measures taken by the government to improve sex ratio? To halt the declining child sex ratio and to improve the rate of child birth, government has taken following steps:

  1. Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao with Sukanya Samriddhi yojana is a positive initiative to improve girl child delivery and education through financial incentives.
  2. A two-way exchange of information via discussions serve as examples that may help break social attitudinal barriers.

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