3.9 MILLION MISSING FEMALES: IMPACT ON SOCIETY

"When Munni arrived in this fertile, sugarcane-growing region of north India as a young bride years ago, little did she imagine she would be forced into having sex and bearing children with her husband's two brothers who had failed to find wives. 

"My husband and his parents said I had to share myself with his brothers," said the woman in her mid-40s, dressed in a yellow sari, sitting in a village community centre in Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh……. 

…….According to India's 2011 census, there are only 858 women to every 1,000 men in Baghpat district, compared to the national sex ratio of 940. 

Child sex ratios in Baghpat are even more skewed and on the decline with 837 girls in 2011 compared to 850 in 2001 -- a trend mirrored across districts in states such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. 

"In every village, there are at least five or six bachelors who can't find a wife. In some, there are up to three or four unmarried men in one family. It's a serious problem," says Shri Chand, 75, a retired police constable. "

-The Times of India – 28th October 2011. 

The above story appreared on the 28th October issue of the Times of India. It awakens the memory of a film which I had accidently stumbled upon one summer afternoon in 2005. Matrabhoomi – a film directed by Manish Jha and released sometime in 2003 examines the impact of female foeticide and female infanticide on the gender balance, and consequently the stability and attitudes of society. In the movie, Kalki (Tulip Joshi) is bought by Ramcharan (played by Sudhir Pandey) a father of five living some distance from the village. She is then married to all his five sons. Each night of the week, she is forced to sleep with one of the sons, and even the father gets his weekly night with her. The film ends on a violent but hopeful note, as she bears a baby girl while the men of the village kill each other off over rights to her and her child.

Matrabhoomi is a sort of movie which confronts its audiences with truths, which are so bitter that one feels motivated to avoid them to the extent possible. Well, no longer so. Disparity in Gender ratio has reached such proportions, that it has de-sensitised us to a degree where we hardly feel its important issue to think about at all. Today I see different variations of the Kalki's story taking shape in society every where. Society it seems is heading towards a highly volatile future.

Cause: 

The main reason behind growing disparity in Sex Ratios, especially in the northern states is preference of a male child over female child. This preference is so deeply entrenched in society that to have it fulfilled people either get their pregnancy terminated (if they get to learn that it’s a girl), or kill the new born, or desert the child in front of temple or orphanage so as to get rid of it. 

Historically, north Indian societies have always had a highly protective attitude towards women (may be due to the various invasions they witnessed in the past). This protective attitude meant that these girls / women never got equal opportunities on par with men to study, work or grow professionally. This in turn led to men enjoying relatively higher status in society over women. Over a period of time the society invented new ways like dowry for cashing in on the higher perceived status of man. This phenomenally increased the costs of raising a girl child. 

Over the course of time, society has changed a lot. Women now undertake higher learning which is helping them carve a niche for themselves in a variety of professions. However the beliefs against the girl child are so deeply rooted in the consciousness of most individuals that even after societal norms have underwent a complete overhaul in modern times, there are still a large section of population (both male and female) which views girl child as a burden. What is alarming here is that such beliefs are not limited families which are uneducated/illiterate etc. but encompass highly educated families also. The problem has gathered higher momentum in recent times because of availability of cheap methods of in womb sex determination (Ultra Sound) and pregnancy termination / abortion techniques. 

Extent of the Problem and Future Consequence: 

TABLE - A

Statewise BreakUp of Total Population of  India  . Based on Census 2011
	STATE	TOTAL	MALE	FEMALE	ACTUAL SEX RATO (F PER 1000 M)	FEMALE POPULATION BASED ON NATURAL SEX RATE	SHORTFALL/SURPLUS IN FEMALES	BIGGEST OFFENDERS
1	Jammu & Kashmir	12548926	6665561	5883365	882.65	6121427	-238062	-4.0%
2	Himachal Pradesh	6856509	3473892	3382617	973.73	3344639	37978	1.1%
3	Punjab	27704236	14634819	13069417	893.04	13514261	-444844	-3.4%
4	Chandigarh #	1054686	580282	474404	817.54	514481	-40077	-8.4%
5	Uttarakhand	10116752	5154178	4962574	962.83	4935001	27573	0.6%
6	Haryana	25353081	13505130	11847951	877.29	12367357	-519406	-4.4%
7	NCT of Delhi #	16753235	8976410	7776825	866.36	8172310	-395485	-5.1%
8	Rajasthan	68621012	35620086	33000926	926.47	33473664	-472738	-1.4%
9	Uttar Pradesh	199581477	104596415	94985062	908.11	97356818	-2371756	-2.5%
10	Bihar	103804637	54185347	49619290	915.73	50636408	-1017118	-2.0%
11	Sikkim	607688	321661	286027	889.22	296433	-10406	-3.6%
12	Arunachal Pradesh	1382611	720232	662379	919.67	674444	-12065	-1.8%
13	Nagaland	1980602	1025707	954895	930.96	966147	-11252	-1.2%
14	Manipur	2721756	1369764	1351992	987.03	1327686	24306	1.8%
15	Mizoram	1091014	552339	538675	975.26	532202	6473	1.2%
16	Tripura	3671032	1871867	1799165	961.16	1790747	8418	0.5%
17	Meghalaya	2964007	1492668	1471339	985.71	1445857	25482	1.7%
18	Assam	31169272	15954927	15214345	953.58	15204523	9822	0.1%
19	West Bengal	91347736	46927389	44420347	946.58	44559871	-139524	-0.3%
20	Jharkhand	32966238	16931688	16034550	947.01	16081092	-46542	-0.3%
21	Orissa	41947358	21201678	20745680	978.49	20462126	283554	1.4%
22	Chhattisgarh	25540196	12827915	12712281	990.99	12458632	253649	2.0%
23	Madhya Pradesh	72597565	37612920	34984645	930.12	35413446	-428801	-1.2%
24	Gujarat	60383628	31482282	28901346	918.02	29455428	-554082	-1.9%
25	Daman & Diu #	242911	150100	92811	618.33	118493	-25682	-27.7%
26	Dadra & Nagar Haveli #	342853	193178	149675	774.80	167245	-17570	-11.7%
27	Maharashtra	112372972	58361397	54011575	925.47	54816084	-804509	-1.5%
28	Andhra Pradesh	84665533	42509881	42155652	991.67	41300260	855392	2.0%
29	Karnataka	61130704	31057742	30072962	968.29	29819856	253106	0.8%
30	Goa	1457723	740711	717012	968.01	711084	5928	0.8%
31	Lakshadweep #	64429	33106	31323	946.14	31429	-106	-0.3%
32	Kerala	33387677	16021290	17366387	1083.96	16286672	1079715	6.2%
33	Tamil Nadu	72138958	36158871	35980087	995.06	35189736	790351	2.2%
34	Puducherry #	1244464	610485	633979	1038.48	607056	26923	4.2%
35	Andaman & Nicobar Islands #	379944	202330	177614	877.84	185339	-7725	-4.3%
	INDIA	1210193422	623724248	586469174	940.27	590338255	-3869081	-0.7%

TABLE - B

Statewise BreakUp of Population of  India between 0-7 Years of Age . Based on Census 2011
	STATE	TOTAL	MALE	FEMALE	ACTUAL SEX RATO (F PER 1000 M)	FEMALE POPULATION BASED ON NATURAL SEX RATE	SHORTFALL/SURPLUS IN FEMALES	BIGGEST OFFENDERS
1	Jammu & Kashmir	2008642	1080662	927980	858.71	979825	-51845	-5.6%
2	Himachal Pradesh	763864	400681	363183	906.41	372617	-9434	-2.6%
3	Punjab	2941570	1593262	1348308	846.26	1434912	-86604	-6.4%
4	Chandigarh	117953	63187	54766	866.73	57538	-2772	-5.1%
5	Uttarakhand	1328844	704769	624075	885.50	648217	-24142	-3.9%
6	Haryana	3297724	1802047	1495677	829.99	1608646	-112969	-7.6%
7	NCT of Delhi	1970510	1055735	914775	866.48	961224	-46449	-5.1%
8	Rajasthan	10504916	5580212	4924704	882.53	5124349	-199645	-4.1%
9	Uttar Pradesh	29728235	15653175	14075060	899.18	14501578	-426518	-3.0%
10	Bihar	18582229	9615280	8966949	932.57	9064502	-97553	-1.1%
11	Sikkim	61077	31418	29659	944.01	29794	-135	-0.5%
12	Arunachal Pradesh	202759	103430	99329	960.35	98907	422	0.4%
13	Nagaland	285981	147111	138870	943.98	139503	-633	-0.5%
14	Manipur	353237	182684	170553	933.60	172311	-1758	-1.0%
15	Mizoram	165536	83965	81571	971.49	80749	822	1.0%
16	Tripura	444055	227354	216701	953.14	216612	89	0.0%
17	Meghalaya	555822	282189	273633	969.68	271133	2500	0.9%
18	Assam	4511307	2305088	2206219	957.11	2200638	5581	0.3%
19	West Bengal	10112599	5187264	4925335	949.51	4932975	-7640	-0.2%
20	Jharkhand	5237582	2695921	2541661	942.78	2554918	-13257	-0.5%
21	Orissa	5035650	2603208	2432442	934.40	2456415	-23973	-1.0%
22	Chhattisgarh	3584028	1824987	1759041	963.86	1748306	10735	0.6%
23	Madhya Pradesh	10548295	5516957	5031338	911.98	5145510	-114172	-2.3%
24	Gujarat	7494176	3974286	3519890	885.67	3655696	-135806	-3.9%
25	Daman & Diu	25880	13556	12324	909.12	12624	-300	-2.4%
26	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	49196	25575	23621	923.60	23998	-377	-1.6%
27	Maharashtra	12848375	6822262	6026113	883.30	6267500	-241387	-4.0%
28	Andhra Pradesh	8642686	4448330	4194356	942.91	4215944	-21588	-0.5%
29	Karnataka	6855801	3527844	3327957	943.34	3344293	-16336	-0.5%
30	Goa	139495	72669	66826	919.59	68046	-1220	-1.8%
31	Lakshadweep	7088	3715	3373	907.94	3458	-85	-2.5%
32	Kerala	3322247	1695935	1626312	958.95	1620608	5704	0.4%
33	Tamil Nadu	6894821	3542351	3352470	946.40	3363327	-10857	-0.3%
34	Puducherry	127610	64932	62678	965.29	62249	429	0.7%
35	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	39497	20094	19403	965.61	19267	136	0.7%
	INDIA	158789287	82952135	75837152	914.23	77458189	-1621037	-2.1%

All northern states have a far less number of females per 1000 males, and together with Maharashtra and Gujrat they contribute to more than 80% shortfall in female population. The high percentage shortfall in the population of females in the Union Territories of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (27% & 11%) is mainly due to ''Low Base Effect". North East, almost entire Southern India, and some coastal states in Eastern India like Orrisa and Jharkhand have  favorable sex ratios i.e instead of shortfall, these states have witnessed a surplus in number of female births.

States like Haryana and Delhi where the skewness in female population is the highest, can already be seen to be grappling with an unprecedented rise in crime against women and children. Other criminal activities like murder, assault, kidnapping etc. to have risen substantially. Villages across western UP, Delhi and Haryana are increasingly finding it tough to find brides for their sons. The acute shortage of girls of marriageable age in the community has led them to  buying brides from Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Northern Africa. Some villages in Haryana, where the gender problem is deeply entrenched, villagers have resorted to kidnapping young girls from cities like Jaipur and Delhi who are usually then subjected to exploitation by multiple members of the family. 

There is a total shortfall of 3.9 million girls in the society. The amount of shortfall has been worked out by comparing the actual sex ratio with the 'natural sex rate/ratio' of 105 males for 100 females. Nature places the odds in favor of males because due to their inherent aggressive traits they tend to die early resulting from war, fights, murder etc. The natural sex ratio tells us how many girls "should have been there", had there been no human interventions (foeticide and infanticide ). The tables however do not show the distribution of males and females belonging to marriageable age bracket. However such a distribution is not really necessary because sexual inclinations (and their affect on behavior) do not wait till attainment of marriageable age, they start  at a far early age than that and last well till middle ages.

Table B shows state wise  gender distribution of children up to the age of 7 years. The sex ratio among these children will determine whether the gender problem will sort itself out in the coming years or get worse. The sex ratio in table B is drastically lower then the average in table A (total population) which is a clear indication that people are increasingly eliminating girl child. This will create bigger problems for the country in the years to come. The situation in Haryana and Delhi will get a lot worse with about 1,50,000 girls missing, this will leave 1,50,000 frustrated males without a partner and therefore lead them to get sex through means which may not be socially acceptable (e.g. rape, kidnapping, forced mairrage etc.). Another area to watch out for increase in women related violence would be Uttar Pradesh, a total of 4,26,0000 males will not find a partner in the coming decade which will definitely make the social fabric unstable.

APPEAL : Please don't destroy your baby girl. Or else, your baby boy will have to head for the animal farm some day. - Brutally straightforward but true.

YF-IThink