JOIN USDHO Dr Surendra Chimbalkar said extensive awareness should be created to overcome skewed sex ratio.
Speaking at the workshop organised on Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (PC and PNDT) Act enacted in 1994 and amended in 2003, he said sex ratio is an indicator, which describes the number of women per 1,000 men for a given population.
The child sex ratio describes ratio of girls to boys in the age group of 0-6 years. The skewed sex ratios (where female are lesser than male) not only indicate poor social health, but also barrier in attaining sustainable social development.
The pre-dominantly patriarchal, social, cultural and religious set up based on the foundation that the family line runs through a male has contributed extensively to the secondary status of women in India. This has led to strong desire to avoid the birth of a female child in the family resulting in decline in child sex ratio at an alarming rate. He said misuse of technology is a major reason for distorting child sex ratios.
In order to regulate use and prohibit misuse of technology, the Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (PC and PNDT) act enacted in 1994 and amended in 2003 is an important tool for addressing sex selective eliminations.
He said, in 1901, sex ratio in India was 1,000:972 and in 2001, 1,000:933 and 1,000:940 as per 2011 census. While in 1991, child sex ratio was 1,000: 945 and 1,000:914 as per 2011 census. In 1991, child sex ratio of Karnataka was 1,000: 960 and 1,000:943 as per 2011 census. In 2001, child sex ratio of Udupi was 1,000: 958 and 1,000:955 as per 2011 census.
The main purpose of the act is to prohibit and regulate the use of diagnostics techniques before and or after conception for sex determinations leading to sex selective elimination of fetus. The provision of the act encompasses creating institutional mechanisms and providing tools to monitor the use of diagnostic techniques for prohibiting sex selection. There is provision of punishment and penalty for those who violate provisions of PC and PNDT Act, he said.
Udupi BAR Council President Madhav Acharya opined awareness should be created to avoid sex selective elimination of fetus. The PC and PNDT Act should implemented strictly and public should know sex determination is punishable offense. The sex ratio of a given population is used as a strong indicator to ascertain social health. Although females were offered equal rights for assets during 1956, the law is being popularised recently. He stressed that veil stem leading to elimination of female fetus should be stopped through creating awareness.