Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Decline in sex ratio worrying: expert

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 5. While large-scale selective female foeticide is not evident in the State, there are enough indicators in the census data between 1991-2001 that show a definite decline in the sex ratio and this is a cause for concern, according to S. Irudaya Rajan of the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) here.

He was making a presentation at a workshop on selective female foeticide, organised by the Kesari Memorial Journalists' Trust and Sakhi Women's Resource Centre here on Saturday.

The 1981-91 census data had given indications of a decline in female sex ratio in Kannur, Malapuram, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Pathnamthitta districts. It suggested that while fertility control and family planning were being adopted, some manipulations were being done to ensure that a family had a girl and a boy, Dr. Rajan said.

In the 2001 census, while the evidence of gender bias at district-level disappeared, the Primary Census Abstract (PCA) data at the taluk-level between 1991-2001 showed that at least 10 out of 63 taluks had a clear decline in the number of females, in the 0-6 years age group, with Ernakulam topping the list.

Sashi Kumar, Media Development Foundation, Chennai, who spoke on `Media and Gender Justice', pointed out that the media had moved into an age of event journalism, with fleeting attention being paid to emerging issues.

This pre-occupation of the media with event journalism was at the cost of process journalism. The media did not have space or time for serious issues; serious issues like selective female foeticide was reserved for researchers, Mr. Sashi Kumar said.

Sabu George, Centre for Women's Development Studies, New Delhi, pointed out that the medical fraternity had all along been opposing the implementation of the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)Act of 1994 and that in Kerala, the efforts at implementing the Act had stopped at the mere registration of ultra sound scan centres. The State Government was yet to regulate or monitor these centres, he pointed out.

The former Chief Secretary, Padma Ramachandran, inaugurated the workshop.

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