SHREYA KEDIA
It is commendable that the Supreme Court, while providing more teeth to the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, which prohibits sex determination in the country, issued a slew of directives this week to the States and High Courts for strict implementation of the law.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and SK Singh issued 16 directives to the States and asked the Chief Justices of High Courts “to constitute a committee of three judges which can periodically oversee progress of cases” lodged under the PCPNDT Act. The court said the menace of female foeticide corrodes human values and decreases the sex ratio, which is a sign of “colossal calamity” that cannot be allowed to happen.
The court’s directives have come close on the heels of a Public Interest Litigation submitted by a Punjab NGO which urged it to intervene in view of the decreasing number of girls:boys ratio in the country. It is indeed alarming that as per the 2011 Census data, while the overall sex ratio had gone up by seven points to touch 940, against 933 in 2001, the child sex ratio plummeted to 914 from 927. Sex ratio is the number of women against 1,000 men, while child sex ratio is the number of girls against 1,000 boys in the age group of zero to six.
The reasons for the declining girl child ratio are numerous – high mortality rate, neglect of the girl child, female foeticide, prejudice etc. The root of the problem is to do with an age-old mindset where families give preference to a male child over a girl. The prevailing mindset in the country is such that people consider girls to be a curse and a burden, owing to enormous expenditure in marrying her off and paying elaborate dowries. Boys are treated as family ‘varis’ (inheritors), destined to take the family name forward and ensure that the family’s wealth remains intact. To fulfil their desire, they either opt for repeated pregnancies until a boy is born or opt for sex determination, which is unlawful. On the other hand, girls are killed (even before they are born) or abandoned after birth because people feel that boys can better carry forward their family’s name. The rich and the poor are equal in committing this crime.
It was in the 1990s when the use of ultrasound techniques gained momentum that the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, was formulated, and came into force in 1996. The Act addressed two concerns – declining sex ratio and female foeticide. In light of new fertility technologies which facilitated the selection of sex of the foetus before conception, the Act was amended in 2003. The new law imposed stringent punishments; regulated the sale of ultrasound machines; empowered the central supervisory board, constitution of State-level supervisory board; granted appropriate authorities with the power of civil court for search, seizure and sealing ultrasound machines and equipments of the violators.
However, the amended law lacked failed to achieve positive results. A 2011 Lancet report said that the decline in the number of girls is more pronounced in richer and more educated households. It added that “the PCPNDT law banning gender testing on a foetus has been largely ineffective”. Many experts in the country have also opined that the amended law remained on paper only. There have been continuous efforts on the part of sections of the medical fraternity, just like among many people, to undermine the law. Many medical professionals fall for the lure of income to be had by breaking the law. The State advisory committee did not meet regularly. The ultrasound clinics too failed to maintain records – and violators were often let scot-free.
But while the scale of the problem is posing challenges to the Government’s determination to tackle it, been notable successes. The ‘Save the Girl Child’, ‘Atamaja’, ‘ Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’, campaigns have grabbed national attention are being talked of worldwide. Haryana, which along with Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir, tops the list in sex determination, is a living example as it showed signs of progress early this year. The State’s sex ratio saw an upward movement, as for the first time in 10 years, in December 2015, it crossed the 900 mark – with 903 girls per 1,000 boys.
Several solutions are being discussed to tackle the socio-legal menace. The apex court had received acclaim for making Internet search engines agree to block sites and advertisements that offer kits to determine the gender of an unborn child. But digital solutions alone are not enough. Directives of the apex court require backing from healthcare personnel, better counselling to the families and also sustained political efforts to root out the problem. Most importantly, the focus must be on changing people’s mindsets, and this can be done through public awareness campaigns.
(The writer is a journalist with an interest in social affairs)