Other States - Haryana   

Call for a crusade against female foeticide

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai on Thursday expressed concern over the declining sex ratio in the country and called for a crusade against this social evil. Presiding over a regional seminar on “Female foeticide and infanticide” organised by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights here, Dr. Kidwai called for creating awareness among the people, especially in the rural areas, to check this decline.

The Governor said women had proved their mettle in every sphere of life by excelling their male counterparts. In Haryana, panchayats being managed by women sarpanches were rather doing better than the panchayats headed by males.

The Union Government was considering reservation of one-third seats in Parliament and the State Assemblies to give more representation to women, he added.

Dr. Kidwai asserted that female foeticide could be checked effectively only though strict implementation of the PNDT Act which among other things prohibited misuse of ultra-sound machines. He pointed out that four doctors had been jailed recently in Haryana for misuse of ultra-sound machines.

While lamenting that the cases of female foeticide were more in the progressive States like Punjab and Haryana (798 and 820 females for every 1,000 males in Punjab and Haryana respectively according to the 2001 Census), he remarked that this imbalance in the sex ratio could even lead to law and order problems. Moreover, thanks to this gender inequality, youth from Punjab and Haryana were marrying girls from other States, he added.

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Call for a crusade against female foeticide

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