Gender And Sex Ratio In India PDF

GENDER AND SEX RATIO IN INDIA INTRODUCTION Gender ratio (Sex Ratio) is the ratio of females per 1000 males in the country. It is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equality between males and females in a society at a given point of time. Sex ratio of any co...

GENDER AND SEX RATIO IN INDIA INTRODUCTION Gender ratio (Sex Ratio) is the ratio of females per 1000 males in the country. It is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equality between males and females in a society at a given point of time. Sex ratio of any country is not just a demographic variable but an important indicator of country’s gender development index. And an adverse sex ratio reveals a lopsided social development and violation of human rights. India is one of those female deficit countries in the world where sex ratio is calculated per thousand of males. The prevailing patriarchal society creates a gender imbalance by viewing the male as an asset and the female as a liability for the family.  A declining child sex ratio favourable to males has become a characteristic of India‘s population pattern. Sex ratios have declined in China and India for three decades, with no significant improvement. As per the provisional population totals of Census 2011, the sex ratio of India is 940. TRENDS AND OVERVIEW Sex ratio at birth is the relative number of male and female births in a population. Worldwide, the normal SRB is measured as the number of boys born per 100 girls born in a population. However, India measures the SRB on a higher denominator, i.e. the number of female births per 1000 male births. The sex ratio for the age group of 0–6 years is called the Child Sex Ratio or juvenile sex ratio6.  The general sex ratio for the population is the other measurement of long term changes in the relative number of men and women in a population; this, too, has decreased substantially in India, from 972 in 1901 to 940 in 2011. The sex ratio in India has been historically negative or in other words, unfavourable to females. TRENDS IN SEX RATIO IN STATES AND UTS: 2001-2011 Following statement provides recent trends of sex ratio of the total population, sex ratio in the age group 0-6 years and sex ratio of population aged 7 years and above for 2001 and 2011 for all the States and Union Territories. The top three States recording the highest value of overall sex ratio are neighbours located in the southern part of India namely Kerala (1084), Tamil Nadu (995), and Andhra Pradesh (992). Among the UTs, the top three are Puducherry (1038), Lakshadweep (946) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (878). The lowest sex ratio among the States has been recorded in Haryana (877), Jammu and Kashmir (883) and Sikkim (889). Among the UTs the lowest sex ratio has been returned in Daman and Diu (618), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (775) and Chandigarh (818).  The top three States recording the highest value of child sex ratio in the age group 0-6 years are Mizoram (971), Meghalaya (970) and Chhattisgarh (964). Among the UTs, the top three positions are held by Andaman and Nicobar Islands (966) , Puducherry (965) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (924). The lowest Child sex ratio (0-6 years) among the States have been observed in the States of Haryana (830), Punjab (846) and Jammu and Kashmir (859) while among the UTs, Delhi (866), Chandigarh (867) and Lakshadweep (908) occupy the bottom position. Telangana is the 29th State of India which was formed on 2 June 2014. The sex ratio (female per 1000 males) is 988 and Child sex ratio is 933. REASONS FOR THIS DECLINING TREND The reasons for such discrimination are manifold. Most communities in India have historically exhibited a strong socio-cultural preference for a son, leading to the brutal practice of female infanticide, and a grave neglect of girls. Social customs and religious rituals also underscore the importance of a son over a daughter, shaping societal attitudes in favour of the male child. Customs such as the practice of dowry pose financial burdens on the bride‘s family during and after marriage. Women bearing male children are treated with respect in the community and a son is considered as a security for old age.  50 million women are 'missing' in the Indian population. While female mortality and sex selective infanticide have contributed to skewed sex distribution in the past, the imbalance in the sex ratios today is also attributed to pre-natal sex determination and sex selection. The link between skewed sex ratios and the growing trend of misuse of increasingly sophisticated diagnostic techniques for prenatal sex determination and pre- conception sex selection has been widely documented, researched and evidenced in the past few decades.  As per National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Cases under Foeticide – a total of 132 cases, 210 cases and 221 cases were reported during 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Cases under Infanticide – a total of 63 cases, 81 cases and 82 cases were reported during 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Quoted in a recent article in 'The Economist', Nick Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute, has said that this global trend of sex discrimination is the fateful collision between overweening son preference, the use of rapidly GOVERNMENT'S STRATEGY TO CHECK DECLINING SEX RATIO 1. The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994.  operation from 1 January, 1996, in order to check female foeticide.  The Act prohibits determination and disclosure of the sex of foetus.  prohibits any advertisements relating to pre-natal determination of sex and prescribes punishment for its contravention. 2. The Government is rendering financial support to the States and UTs for -  operationalization of PNDT Cells,  Capacity Building,  Orientation & Sensitisation Workshop,  Information, Education and Communication campaigns  for strengthening structures for the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Technique (PC-PNDT) Act under the National Health Mission (NHM). 3. To ensure timely steps to stop sex determination –  The Minister of Health and Family Welfare has requested all the State Governments. 4. National Campaign “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” was launched in 100 gender critical districts in partnership with the Ministry of Woman and Child Development and the Ministry of Human Resource Development. 5. The Government has taken different initiative to improve health and nutrition status of women and children through schemes like National Health Mission (NHM), Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS), etc.  The Schemes under the NHM like the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Sishu Surakasha Yojana (JSSK), 108 ambulance service, 104 health helpline, weekly iron and folic acid supplementation (WIFS) programme, etc. 6. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has also taken several measures –  National Girl Child Day: January 24, 2009.  the importance of three 'A's, i.e. Advocacy, Awareness and Affirmative action  Sectoral Innovation Council on Child Sex Ratio - to suggest innovative strategies, approaches and methods of intervention to address the declining in CSR problem. 7. Several meetings of the council have been held and it has been proposed that the council members will provide key recommendations under the following three sub heads:  Legal framework and the related issues like Technology, violations and enforcement.  Policies & programmes for the girl child and their implementation  Advocacy, awareness and ethical issues-innovative approaches 8. A new scheme 'Care and Protection of Girl Child' -