One-child norm the culprit

And the reason, according to District Health Officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy, is the “one child norm” mostly practised by educated couples. If the first born is a male child, couples rarely go for a second child. This has created the imbalance. “We are yet to analyse the facts scientifically,” he added.

As if to support his argument, the total number of children below six years has also come down during the last decade.  He admitted that sex determination does play a role as medical ethics among doctors is not of the highest order. Awareness at the village-level regarding the importance of girl child was also needed. However, the census survey is conducted en masse and unless community-wise data is available, interventions become difficult.

Bairy, however, contends that a large number of couples are, indeed, happy with girl child(ren). “I have interviewed many couples regarding the girl child issue, and found that many couples prefer a girl child.” Women’s Federation (Kundapur) president Radha Das argued that the sex ratio imbalance in the district was because of parents’ reluctance to have a girl child due to heavy dowry to be paid during marriage and preference for male child.  “(Sex selection) abortion is a common phenomenon in the district,” she regretted.

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