'People still go for sex determination tests'

Despite initiatives being made by the State Government to correct gender imbalance in Madhya Pradesh, its results have been far from satisfactory. lack of awareness and sensitisation on the issue as well as unethical practices being adopted by pathological labs across the State are major contributing factors to this. Though male, female sex ratio following several initiatives made by the State Government as well as the district administration, has slightly improved in Madhya Pradesh in the past few years, it is still far from satisfactory.  Currently, there are 930 females per 1,000 males in Madhya Pradesh against a national average of 943 females per 1,000 males, as per the latest population consensus statistics. 

Surprisingly, the documents provided by the district administration shown only 918 females per 1,000 males in the State. In a media workshop organised on Tuesday to checkmate incidents of female feticide in the State, executive director, Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association Mukesh Kumar Sinha said that survey reports have shown that in majority of cases in the State as well as 

in the district, people are going for sex determination tests of their unborn child in second and third cases of pregnancies and this contributing to big gender imbalance in the State. However, he said that incidents of pre-determination of sex and female feticide in the State can be curbed to a large extent through educating womenfolk, society that we must deny girls, female sex of their birth rights. 

In a male-dominated society, people getting inspired by frivolous social, religious, cultural myths are denying girls of their birth rights, thereby causing  big gender imbalance in the State. This attitude of people in the society needs to be corrected through public awareness, media sensitisation and strict enforcement of PC & PNDT Act.  Additional collector Sudhir Kumar Kochar said that media needs to play a big role in correcting gender imbalance from he society through articles, write-ups on these issues in the newspapers, magazines.