With the development of modern science, the issue of female feticide has assumed a greater importance than infanticide. Female feticide has been made possible by advances in genetic engineering and information technology. Mainly, these methods are used for intra-uterine sex determination of the fetus, amniocentesis, chronic villous sampling and ultrasound scanning. Ultrasound scanning has become the most common method of fetal sex determination because it is quick, cheap, easily available and non-invasive. It results in no recognized side effects for the fetus or mother. However, it is often misused in countries like ours with socio-cultural preference for a son. Most times, the ultrasound sex determination technique results in termination of pregnancies if fetus in the womb is found to be a female.
Generally, killing a baby girl in womb is limited among those who have financial means to get ultrasound and an abortion. Majority of Nepali women in rural area cannot access these services. However, during the start of 21st century, many remote areas, especially Tarai belt of Nepal had mobile ultrasound clinics consisting of portable ultrasound machines installed in a van, which would be taken around villages. Due to the open boarder with India, such services were easily available. Since identification of fetus sex is possible with little training and experience, both medical and non-medical personnel started providing ultrasound services. The advertisement of sex determination and abortion bore such catchy slogans as “pay one thousand now to save one lakh later.”
In general, the sex ratio imbalance is a worldwide phenomenon, with the number of females on a constant decline, which can be regarded as an indicator of prevalence of female infanticide and feticide. In China, Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) is 119.92, which is far more than the normal standard of 103 to 107. Critics say “one family one child” policy of birth control in China contributes to female abortion as the people prefer sons who they believe will support them in old age and bear them grandchildren. On average, there are 105 women exist for every 100 men, but it differs highly between one country and the other: 93 in India and Pakistan, 94 in China, 97 in Egypt and Iran and 93 in Bangladesh. UNICEF’s research suggests the number of missing females could exceed 100 millions. At least 60 million females in Asia are ‘missing’, victims of female feticide and infanticide. As many as 6 to 10 millions girls have been aborted only in India in the last 20 years. This has indirectly affected Nepal as well, as many Nepali girls are married off in India which is now short on girls.
In last two months, I have conducted some research on female feticide in Kathmandu. I visited many hospitals, private clinics, senior doctors and nurses, health workers, medical students, among others related to the medical field. As I raised the concern of female feticide, almost all of them accepted that it was an open secret that sex selective abortion was being carried out in the valley, but no one was able to give reliable data as gender based abortion is banned. UNICEF research indicates that in Nepal, about 200,000 females are missing due to sex-selective abortion. If urgent action is not taken, female feticide could assume alarming proportions.
To check it, sufficient legal provisions and their proper implementation is a must. In the context of our country, we can minimize this trend by restricting gender-based ultrasound and determination of fetal sex. Abortion of female fetus isn’t possible without direct involvement of medical personnel. So the license of medical personnel should be cancelled if they are involved in female feticide. Creating awareness and making medical students aware about adverse impacts of sex-selective abortion is also an imperative.
The writer is presenting a paper on female infanticide in South Asia at the Global Development Youth Conference at Xi’an city, China
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