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The Consequences of Our Actions

As long as the birth of a girl does not receive the same welcome as that of a boy, so long we should know that India is suffering from partial paralysis.
_{Mahatma Gandhi}

Today, India is suffering from this partial paralysis. How can there be widespread cruelty, neglect and inequality without some tragic consequence? And what is the impact of inequality and unabated sex-selection on our society?

“Sau putravati bhava” (May you be the mother of a hundred sons) ... This is a well-known blessing given to a young girl when she gets married. In our country, there is tremendous pressure on women to bear sons, to the extent that they are made to feel like failures if they do not. Often they are threatened with abandonment and divorce if they do not eliminate a baby girl. The desire of every woman is to be the mother of at least one son. A childless woman is an “incomplete” woman and one who only has daughters is also only partially complete. It is only after she has produced a son that she enjoys a status of sorts.
_{One person voicing the prevailing opinion in their community ¹²}

The physical health of these women is at serious risk. Studies indicate that the risk of death is seven to ten times higher for women who wait until the second trimester to terminate their pregnancies; sex-selective abortions are all second trimester abortions. There is evidence of women undergoing as many as eight consecutive abortions to fulfil the family’s quest for a son. A large percentage of Indian women are anaemic and consecutive abortions ruin their health. Many women go through tremendous physical suffering and psychological trauma as a result of forcibly undergoing abortion after abortion. Many poor women contract disease, get bed-ridden or die due to ill-performed abortions in unhygienic conditions like mobile vans.

The children of today are tomorrow’s future generation. A mother is a child’s first teacher and a very strong influence in the child’s life. What joy can a mother bring into her child’s life when she is unhappy in her marriage due to constant dowry demands or incessant pressure to bear a son? What values are we imparting to vulnerable, impressionable children who grow up in a home where the mother is constantly dominated and abused? What behaviour will these children exhibit when they grow up?

Today, due to sex-selection, there is a severe shortage of women in some communities. Men who are not able to find a bride due to this shortage of women will be deprived of one of the great joys of life: experiencing a wife’s life-long companionship and support.

Also, ours is a society where marriage is regarded as universally desirable. Social status and acceptance depend, in large part, on being married and creating a new family. Men who are not able to find a bride will experience the pain and loneliness of being marginalized by society.

The supporters of sex-detection tests argue that on the basis of the law of demand and supply, an excess of males over females would eventually raise the status of women.

Whatever is happening should be allowed to continue unchecked. The value of women will shoot up and they will come on horseback and take the boys away.
_{The opinion of one doctor arguing to allow sex-selective abortions ¹²}

History proves, on the other hand, that an adverse sex ratio in a society results in increased violence against women. This has already begun to occur in India. The shortage of women in certain areas has resulted in a marked increase in crime in those areas. The following crimes were committed against women in 2007:¹³

• 1 woman was sexually harassed every 48 minutes
• 1 woman or minor girl was abducted every 26 minutes
• 1 woman was raped every 25 minutes
• 1 woman was molested every 14 minutes

These numbers are based on reported crimes. The vast majority of crimes against women in our country go unreported.

UNICEF recently concluded that “the alarming decline in the child sex ratio [in India] is likely to result in more girls being married at a younger age, more girls dropping out of education, increased mortality as a result of early child-bearing and associated increase in acts of violence against girls and women such as rape, abduction, trafficking and forced polyandry.”¹⁶

Bride-buying and polyandry are relatively new “crimes” against women and are directly related to sex-selection. In parts of India where the shortage of women is acute, there is an increasing trend towards buying brides from poorer regions or from lower castes. “Brokers” are used to traffic women, creating a thriving business. Many of these bought women have no proper registration of their marriage, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation by their husband’s male relatives and friends. Often the woman is forced to be “wife” not only to her husband, but also to his brothers. There are instances of women who are married to as many as eight brothers within the same family. Known as draupadis, these women inhabit the very lowest rungs of the family and societal hierarchy and are subjected to ongoing physical and sexual abuse.

In many communities in India today, there are growing numbers of young men in the lower echelons of society who are marginalized because of their inability to find a wife and who have little outlet for their sexual energy. There is evidence that when such single young men congregate, the potential for organized aggression is likely to increase substantially. Experts predict that this situation will lead to increased levels of anti-social behaviour and violence and will ultimately present a threat to the stability and security of society.¹⁷

Is this the society we want to live in? Is this the society we want to pass on to our children? Perhaps we should pause and reflect on the traditions which drive our choices.

1. Next: What Choices Are We Making?