At first sight, the title tends to put you off. It may be argued “unwanted daughters” is still a stark reality in modern India. The gender muddle continues to make a mockery of all expectations. One often wonders why as a nation we continue to agonise over the sex ratio imbalance, instead of just acting upon what has generally been a perceived reality for long.
A collection of 10 articles by knowledgeable people — among them sociologists, demographers, economists and gender specialists — the book provides a multi-disciplinary perspective to the increasing gender bias in contemporary India and the combination of economic, social, and cultural factors underlying the discrimination against daughters. It is by no means a wake-up call, but reiterates how advances in reproductive technologies have ushered in a silent consolidation of malpractices, and that sex ratio is not just a demographic index but reflects society's attitude towards women.
Now, couples are far more aware and willing to achieve the preferred family size and the desired sex composition of children. Sadly, education has hardly impacted traditional mindsets. Rather, technology and affluence have aggravated the problem as evidenced by the declining sex ratio — from 955 in 1921 to 933 in 2001.
Full report
here Hindu
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