Female infanticide a cause for concern

By D. Sivarajan

HOSUR, MAY 14. The very mention of `female infanticide' conjures up Usilampatti in Madurai District. But in reality, Dharmapuri district also figures prominently in snuffing out the life of female infants.

According to statistics available at the Dharmapuri District Collectorate, as many as 1343 female infants were killed during 1996 and this had dropped to 1250 during 1997 and in 1998 it rose to 1275. But the year 1999 saw a considerable reduction with just 800 such cases reported.

However, NGOs working on this issue put the figures at a much higher rate stating that the deliveries done by the `local dhais' (traditional birth attendants) which was much higher than the ones that took place in the Government Hospitals and primary health centres were usually ignored. In fact the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) at Dharmapuri district continues to be the highest in the State, averaging at around 90 per cent.

The Dharmapuri district administration, in addition to coming up with various welfare measures to safeguard the girl child, have also resorted to striking fear among those resorting to such a practice by regularly booking cases against reported infanticide. In fact, this year until March, the police had booked about 3 cases, exhumed the bodies and sent them for postmortem.

According to Mr. M. Saikumar, the previous district Collector, ``such police action had been responsible in bringing down the number of such infant deaths in the district to a large extent. However, the administration is aware that the social evil cannot be eradicated by just the rule of the law alone, and so had come up with various awareness programmes on the importance of the girl child and providing the families with certain sops like IRDP loans, Indira Vikas Patra for Rs. 1,500, priority in starting rural enterprise, promoting all women ration shops and so on as part of the Girl Child Protection Scheme.''

The NGOs in addition to reporting specific cases of female infanticide to the police in an attempt to discouraging the practice, also resort to counselling the expectant mother and her family starting from the time of detection of pregnancy, help parents to get the monetary incentives offered under the Girl Child Protection Scheme and keep introducing projects for improving women's access to education, health and economic independence.

Mr. G. Nagarajan, director, Integrated Rural Development Trust (IRDT), who has been working in the Pennagaram block where such incidences were rampant, said ``when the NGOs working in Dharmapuri district had brought incidences of female infanticide to the knowledge of the administration during the eighties, it was ridiculed. But, much water had flown since then with the administration conceding the prevalence of such a cruel practice and have extended ample support to the movement to eradicate it. The crux of the issue was to bring about the much required awareness not only among women but also among men in safeguarding the girl child and providing them with education and ensuring their economic independence.''

The health department along with DANIDA, an NGO, has also been doing yeoman service in this direction. The Village Health Nurses (VHN) have been utilised to tackle this issue by promptly tracking the pregnant women and providing them with the much required counselling.

NGOs working in the district also feel that the Government should encourage the local dhais by providing them more sophisticated training on pregnancy and child birth. It was also important that these dhais were provided with at least a honorarium to encourage them and ensure that they adequately adviced the parents from not killing the girl child.

The `cradle baby scheme,' which was launched at Usilampatti, was not introduced here as it was found that the parents here preferred to kill the girl child rather than live with the guilt of having deserted it.

Though the situation in the district had vastly improved with the lives of many a girl child being saved, the prevalence of such a cruel practice continuing under cover cannot be ignored. The police action along with the awareness has had its effect but the NGOs working in the area feel that the Government should also come up with a still more stern message that female infanticide was a grave crime and its perpetrators would not be allowed to go scot free.

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Section  : Regional
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