Unborn and Unwanted: Exploring the Roots and Remedies of Female Foeticide in India

The challenge of becoming a woman is complex. It begins in the womb. Female foeticide or femicide is a common phenomenon in the world. It is the killing of the unborn child while in the womb because it's an XX chromosome. A woman’s battle for survival in the world begins earlier than men. The tradition of having a man as the “Chirag” (heir) of the house in certain parts is strong enough to kill the unborn. One such country is India. The vibrant country with diversity, colour, and people is something to admire when one visits the land of many. However, the South Asian country is strongly traditional and patriarchal. The culture has a strong hold on both men and women. The respect for the rules is vital. Thus, many rituals have taken place for a long time without question. One example would be Sati (a tradition to burn women alive along with their dead husbands on the same pyre), which was later banned with legal regulations. The killing of the unborn female child has been there for a long time. This paper will analyse previous scholarly works to portray the current situation better. It will additionally bring in government schemes, policies, and legal frameworks of India that have been imposed to curb such heinous crimes within the country. The study will highlight the societal reasons behind such crimes and the cultural push to justify them. It will also talk about the shift in attitude and the schemes that have helped bring change from a decade ago.

Keywords: Gender discrimination, female foeticide, Patriarchy, Cultural Norms, Government Schemes