Despite Pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques (Prohibition of sex selection) Act, 1994 that is meant to prevent female foeticide in India, State has failed to uphold the provisions of this act as female foeticide is continuing to be inherited under the nose of the Government.
Even the Government officials accept this issue and had expressed their helplessness over the matter.Principal Secretary of Health Department, K Vidhyasagar said, “State is dealing with end number of women related problems and female foeticide is a very serious problem among them. The basic reason behind this is misuse of ultra sound equipment; it is found that large portion of the population uses ultra sound equipment for sex determination of foeticide and the administration has failed to caught the accuse red handed as the doctors uses it tactfully.”
He further added, “The administration also want to abolish the virus of female foeticide from the society and for this have planned to take more initiative in the direction of creating awareness among the people by conducting workshops at frequent intervals at different areas involving Panchayati Raj institutions also so that people from grass root level get aware about this act.”
It is shocking to find that the educated citizens of the state are rigorously found practicing the crime of female foeticide. Despite being aware about the crime they become its part. Areas like Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribag, Giridi and Deogarh has show a growing graph on female foeticide cases.
Director of National Rural Heath Mission (NHRM) Jharkhand, Dr Manish Ranjan said, “It has been found that basically educated women of this area come down to private hospitals in the name of routine check and to witness the growth of their foeticide, in the course they also inquire about the sex, now the question arises how to educate the educated citizens.”
“Earlier ultra sound machine was used to detect the problems of women relating their health but in present era the use of this machine is being limited only in sex determination which has now become a matter of concern and needs a mid way out it and places,” he added.
lawyer and activist Nereeja Ashree said, “Determination of sex of the foetus is an offence under PCPNDT Act and the punishment under section 23(3) is imprisonment up to three years and Rs 10,000 as fine. For subsequent offence, the punishment is imprisonment which may extend to five years and fine up to Rs 50,000. Though there are provisions in the law but it is not carried out effectively across the state which is the reason the number of female foeticide case is at alarming rate.”
looking at the alarming rate of female foeticide cases across the state, state commission for Women Rights in collaboration with UN Women organizes a programme in which it provided a training to the trainers on ‘Preventing gender biased sex selection”.