Women in India-Female Foeticide
Comment refering to a Paper I've read
Samira Kuklinski
09/11/2020
The issue to be discussed in this comment is the oppression of Indian women and the forced abortions of female gendered babies.
I chose to give my opinion about this specific report because I was perplexed by the violence displayed in it. I think it is important to raise awareness about this topic.
The main problem that is touched upon in the report is, that females are viewed as worthless burdens to families by societal standards. Therefore many wish not to birth a girl, because in their point of view she will only cost them expenses and unnecessary trouble like a dowry. Because of this imagery of the female sex there were many million girls that went missing in the last twenty years.
Another major problem the report mentions is that through ultrasound, gender specific abortions have risen in popularity. Eventhough there is a law that prohibits them it is not really effective, as they are no charges for doctors who make these procedures.
Female foeticide is a religious problem but with the majority of Indians being Hindus and them feeling re enforced by their beliefs the favouritism for males seems not to end any time soon.
Another aspect that shocked me, as well is that the government takes no real measures to prevent female foeticide. Strategies like paying families to keep their baby girls or after school graduation exist but the amount of money is often too little when compared to dowries.
There are also special orphanages for abandoned girls who get left in the hospital, though this is a step in the right direction, the government having to pay for countless orphans is also not a permanent solution. The same applies for widow homes where women have to seek shelter in order not to land on the streets, since they cannot remarry.
To find a permanent fix to the issue the government is required to take serious measures. But because the oppression of women is embedded into the Indian culture and the peoples minds it will presumably still take a lot of time until things change for the better.
I really liked the report by the group. It was informative and understandable. The text was well structured and therefore it was easy to tell when there was a different aspect discussed. I think it was a important and good decision to add various dates and numbers to the topics, because this showed the reality of the problem very clearly and unequivocally.