harmanjit_kaur
Waheguru Waheguru
The Best Place to be a Girl Child
THEBIGSTORY
GROUND REPORT India's child sex ratio has dropped from 927 to 914 girls per 1,000 boys according to Census 2011.
To understand the problem, HT travels to districts in 4 states, each of which present a different scenario - either displaying remarkable improvement or decline from 2001
THE BEST PLACE TO BE A
GIRL CHILD...
ON THE RISE
HIMACHAL DISTRICT EMERGES TOP SCORER
Govt cracks down on pre-natal tests
Aasheesh Sharma
º aasheesh.sharma@hindustantimes.com
The village is under a thick white blanket. Hurling gets cut off from the rest of India every time it snows. And for the past three days, it has snowed heavily in the upper reaches of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
So, the news that Lahaul-Spiti has topped Indian districts with a child sex ratio of 1013 works like an icebreaker. "Really?" exclaims Yeshey Dolma, who teaches in the village school. "I didn't know this. And how would we know? No newspapers reach Spiti between October and May."
NS Bist, Professor, Himachal Pradesh University, who specialises in demography and population studies, says women, who work in the fields, are the family's mainstay.
"Cultivation in the tribal districts of Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur is carried out by women between April and November. Also, for the last four years, the government has implemented the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act more forcefully. This has reflected in Census 2011."
Butite Jagmo, 11, one of Dolma's students, hasn't just out-studied her fifthclass dropout dad Chunni Lal, but her unlettered mother and grandma as well. Butite's mother wasn't allowed to attend school. "I was made to cultivate rice instead. I have ensured it doesn't happen to my daughter," she says.
At the senior secondary school in district headquarters Kaza, 25 km from Butite's home, in subzero conditions, a group of girls is sweating it out on the basketball court. "They are my powerpuff girls: they always beat the boys at studies and sports," says their history teacher Dikit Dolker.
At home, the boys have it easier. School or no school, girls begin their day cooking rice for the family, says Nawang Dumgzo, a Class X student. "I then wash the floors and fetch water as the pipes get frozen. After school between 10 am and 4 pm, I return and again cook dinner," adds Dumgzo. "All that boys do is while away time playing or watching cricket," she says.
Since the last Census in 2001, people in Lahaul-Spiti have realised that the "sincere" girls also take better care of their elders, says sociologist Sonam Angdui, from Spiti's erstwhile royal family.
"Boys take to drinking in their teens, drop out and become taxi drivers or construction contractors. By the time they are 40, they turn into alcoholics." Religion also affects the region's demography, says Kishore Thukral, author of Spiti, Through Legend and Lore. Between 700-800 monks inhabit Spiti's Kee, Tangyud, Dhankar, Tabo and Kumgry monasteries.
Most villagers send one of their children to embrace monkhood. "Which could be why Lahaul-Spiti's population hasn't grown as rapidly as other districts," says Angdui.
In the 2011 Census, the population of Lahaul and Spiti actually dropped from 33,224 in 2001 to 31,528 in 2001. Celebrated agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan says Spiti's arid weatherand the capacity to keep seeds dry is ideal for multiple crops. "If we develop its marketing potential the district can turn into another Switzerland," he says.
Much before Swaminathan, a certain Rudyard Kipling praised Spiti with these words in the classic Kim: "Surely the Gods live here…This is no place for men."
He could well have been talking about the age of the girl child.
Everyone wants a boy
Prachi Prnglay
º prachi.pinglay@hindustantimes.com
In her thirties, Sunita admits that she has undergone two sex determination tests and then two abortions when she found out she was pregnant with girls. The boy came after the two abortions. "We needed a son who can look after us when are old," the housewife married to a farm labourer in Hivra village in Jalna district of western Maharashtra, 335 km northeast from Mumbai.
Records at the nearest primary health centre show that in the past year only 239 girls were born in 17 surrounding villages, compared with 349 males. The child sex ratio in the whole district has dropped to 847 girls per 1,000 boys, the 2011 census has revealed, from 904 girls in 2001.
Activists say that the practice of women undergoing sex determination tests is widespread in this and other villages of Jalna, a largely agricultural district. The long-standing factors driving this trend arise from the social system entrenched in this village, as in millions of others in the country: one in which only men inherit property, carry forward the family name, execute all rituals, receive dowry from their wives and are supposed to look after their parents. More recent factors are the easy availability of sonography machines and an increasing awareness about family planning.
"In the past, women could keep trying for a son," says Kirti Udhan, chairman, Jalna Zilla Parishad. "So you would see women bearing seven to eight daughters before finally giving birth to a son. Now because of economic compulsions, couples want at least their second or third child to be a son, if the first one is not, and they keep aborting any female foetuses until this is the case."
STILL GOOD IN KERALA, NUMBER OF GIRLS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
Sucheth PR
º prachi.pinglay@hindustantimes.com
Any imbalance in sex ratio is a disturbing fact. But when the number of girls exceeds that of boys, it says positive things about the social fabric. The politically vibrant Kannur district of Kerala has topped the sex ratio in the country as per the 2011 census. Kannur has a sex ratio of 1,133 females for 1,000 males, much higher than the national average.
What contributed to its gender balance? Kannur's long history of people's struggles for social justice, the freedom struggle and the Communist movement that encouraged female initiatives in social issues - all played their part. "Rearing up girl children and giving them in marriage is less expensive in this region compared to other parts of the state," says Professor Lakshmanan, former director of KILA (Kerala Institute of Local Administration).
The legacy of the female rulers of Arakkal, the sole Muslim dynasty of Kerala is still inspiringly alive in the social memory of the district. Bibi Harrabichi Kadavube ruled Kannur during the first half of the eighteenth century. The last ruler of the kingdom was also a woman - Ali Raja Mariumma Beevi Thangal.
The girl child was also supported by its culture industry. Indulekha, the first novel in Malayalam authored by O.Chandu Menon was published from Thalassery, a major town in Kannur district known as the cultural capital of north Kerala. The novel presents a bold female character who challenges the patriarchal Brahmanical hegemony while the hero of the novel, Madhavan, is feeble in attitude. The total absence of the burden of the dowry system among the Hindu community, here, is a pivotal factor in the welcome the girl child gets at birth.
The writer is a research scholar
HELL- HOLE JHAJJAR RANKS BOTTOM IN CHILD SEX RATIO
Too macho to have a girl child
Praveen Donthi
º praveen.donthi@hindustantimes.com
Pardeep (25), the popular sarpanch of Barhana, is a reluctant bachelor. The resident of a state that has the country's worst stats in sex ratio with 830 women per 1,000 men - Jhajjar is its worst district at 774 - he is finding it difficult to find a girl to marry. Barhana is Jhajjar's worst case - in 2010, there were 203 births - 148 boys and 55 girls so the sex ratio of this village with a population of 8,890 is 378.
The reason for not being able to find a bride is because there is less land left in the village, says Pardeep. Bhaarat Singh (53), Chief Medical Officer, Jhajjar, has his reasons for the sex ratio skew:
a) The 2003 amendment of PNDT Act, 1994, that allowed mobile ultra-sound clinics making it easier for sex determination b) PNDT Act not being under CrPC makes it easy for guilty doctors to get away c) Governmental promotion of 'small family' that encourages people to go for sterilisation if the first-born is a son.
BS Dahiya, former director general of health services of the state, who takes the credit for booking the first case under PNDT Act, says, "it's all happening because it is a R 10,000- crore business."
CMO, Jhajjar, also cites regional machismo as the reason for the decrease in girl children. "Because it is dominated by the martial races, there is the tendency to have more sons."
The imbalance in sex ratio has triggered many social and cultural problems. Brides are being brought from other states but many run away. The crime rate has gone up too. "There have been 2 to 3 rape cases per month," says Singh. The increasing crime in turn is "discouraging" them from having a girl child many claimed during the interview.
THEBIGSTORY
GROUND REPORT India's child sex ratio has dropped from 927 to 914 girls per 1,000 boys according to Census 2011.
To understand the problem, HT travels to districts in 4 states, each of which present a different scenario - either displaying remarkable improvement or decline from 2001
THE BEST PLACE TO BE A
GIRL CHILD...
HIMACHAL DISTRICT EMERGES TOP SCORER
Govt cracks down on pre-natal tests
Aasheesh Sharma
º aasheesh.sharma@hindustantimes.com
The village is under a thick white blanket. Hurling gets cut off from the rest of India every time it snows. And for the past three days, it has snowed heavily in the upper reaches of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
So, the news that Lahaul-Spiti has topped Indian districts with a child sex ratio of 1013 works like an icebreaker. "Really?" exclaims Yeshey Dolma, who teaches in the village school. "I didn't know this. And how would we know? No newspapers reach Spiti between October and May."
NS Bist, Professor, Himachal Pradesh University, who specialises in demography and population studies, says women, who work in the fields, are the family's mainstay.
"Cultivation in the tribal districts of Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur is carried out by women between April and November. Also, for the last four years, the government has implemented the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act more forcefully. This has reflected in Census 2011."
Butite Jagmo, 11, one of Dolma's students, hasn't just out-studied her fifthclass dropout dad Chunni Lal, but her unlettered mother and grandma as well. Butite's mother wasn't allowed to attend school. "I was made to cultivate rice instead. I have ensured it doesn't happen to my daughter," she says.
At the senior secondary school in district headquarters Kaza, 25 km from Butite's home, in subzero conditions, a group of girls is sweating it out on the basketball court. "They are my powerpuff girls: they always beat the boys at studies and sports," says their history teacher Dikit Dolker.
At home, the boys have it easier. School or no school, girls begin their day cooking rice for the family, says Nawang Dumgzo, a Class X student. "I then wash the floors and fetch water as the pipes get frozen. After school between 10 am and 4 pm, I return and again cook dinner," adds Dumgzo. "All that boys do is while away time playing or watching cricket," she says.
Since the last Census in 2001, people in Lahaul-Spiti have realised that the "sincere" girls also take better care of their elders, says sociologist Sonam Angdui, from Spiti's erstwhile royal family.
"Boys take to drinking in their teens, drop out and become taxi drivers or construction contractors. By the time they are 40, they turn into alcoholics." Religion also affects the region's demography, says Kishore Thukral, author of Spiti, Through Legend and Lore. Between 700-800 monks inhabit Spiti's Kee, Tangyud, Dhankar, Tabo and Kumgry monasteries.
Most villagers send one of their children to embrace monkhood. "Which could be why Lahaul-Spiti's population hasn't grown as rapidly as other districts," says Angdui.
In the 2011 Census, the population of Lahaul and Spiti actually dropped from 33,224 in 2001 to 31,528 in 2001. Celebrated agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan says Spiti's arid weatherand the capacity to keep seeds dry is ideal for multiple crops. "If we develop its marketing potential the district can turn into another Switzerland," he says.
Much before Swaminathan, a certain Rudyard Kipling praised Spiti with these words in the classic Kim: "Surely the Gods live here…This is no place for men."
He could well have been talking about the age of the girl child.
Everyone wants a boy
Prachi Prnglay
º prachi.pinglay@hindustantimes.com
Records at the nearest primary health centre show that in the past year only 239 girls were born in 17 surrounding villages, compared with 349 males. The child sex ratio in the whole district has dropped to 847 girls per 1,000 boys, the 2011 census has revealed, from 904 girls in 2001.
Activists say that the practice of women undergoing sex determination tests is widespread in this and other villages of Jalna, a largely agricultural district. The long-standing factors driving this trend arise from the social system entrenched in this village, as in millions of others in the country: one in which only men inherit property, carry forward the family name, execute all rituals, receive dowry from their wives and are supposed to look after their parents. More recent factors are the easy availability of sonography machines and an increasing awareness about family planning.
"In the past, women could keep trying for a son," says Kirti Udhan, chairman, Jalna Zilla Parishad. "So you would see women bearing seven to eight daughters before finally giving birth to a son. Now because of economic compulsions, couples want at least their second or third child to be a son, if the first one is not, and they keep aborting any female foetuses until this is the case."
STILL GOOD IN KERALA, NUMBER OF GIRLS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
Sucheth PR
º prachi.pinglay@hindustantimes.com
What contributed to its gender balance? Kannur's long history of people's struggles for social justice, the freedom struggle and the Communist movement that encouraged female initiatives in social issues - all played their part. "Rearing up girl children and giving them in marriage is less expensive in this region compared to other parts of the state," says Professor Lakshmanan, former director of KILA (Kerala Institute of Local Administration).
The legacy of the female rulers of Arakkal, the sole Muslim dynasty of Kerala is still inspiringly alive in the social memory of the district. Bibi Harrabichi Kadavube ruled Kannur during the first half of the eighteenth century. The last ruler of the kingdom was also a woman - Ali Raja Mariumma Beevi Thangal.
The girl child was also supported by its culture industry. Indulekha, the first novel in Malayalam authored by O.Chandu Menon was published from Thalassery, a major town in Kannur district known as the cultural capital of north Kerala. The novel presents a bold female character who challenges the patriarchal Brahmanical hegemony while the hero of the novel, Madhavan, is feeble in attitude. The total absence of the burden of the dowry system among the Hindu community, here, is a pivotal factor in the welcome the girl child gets at birth.
The writer is a research scholar
Too macho to have a girl child
Praveen Donthi
º praveen.donthi@hindustantimes.com
Pardeep (25), the popular sarpanch of Barhana, is a reluctant bachelor. The resident of a state that has the country's worst stats in sex ratio with 830 women per 1,000 men - Jhajjar is its worst district at 774 - he is finding it difficult to find a girl to marry. Barhana is Jhajjar's worst case - in 2010, there were 203 births - 148 boys and 55 girls so the sex ratio of this village with a population of 8,890 is 378.
The reason for not being able to find a bride is because there is less land left in the village, says Pardeep. Bhaarat Singh (53), Chief Medical Officer, Jhajjar, has his reasons for the sex ratio skew:
a) The 2003 amendment of PNDT Act, 1994, that allowed mobile ultra-sound clinics making it easier for sex determination b) PNDT Act not being under CrPC makes it easy for guilty doctors to get away c) Governmental promotion of 'small family' that encourages people to go for sterilisation if the first-born is a son.
BS Dahiya, former director general of health services of the state, who takes the credit for booking the first case under PNDT Act, says, "it's all happening because it is a R 10,000- crore business."
CMO, Jhajjar, also cites regional machismo as the reason for the decrease in girl children. "Because it is dominated by the martial races, there is the tendency to have more sons."
The imbalance in sex ratio has triggered many social and cultural problems. Brides are being brought from other states but many run away. The crime rate has gone up too. "There have been 2 to 3 rape cases per month," says Singh. The increasing crime in turn is "discouraging" them from having a girl child many claimed during the interview.
