Kriti Foundation | Page 32

and is highly injurious to our delicate social fabric. The medical technological advancement meant for the diagnostic purposes, for better treatment of certain diseases which could not be taken care of with the help of a simple xray, or by other tests, have started being used for the purpose not intended earlier. Since there had been an increase in the number of cases where children were born with so many genetic disorders, early diagnoses by molecular diagnostic tools, could avoid such pregnancies by terminating them immediately under medical guidance. This boon of medical science has been turned into a curse for the unborn girl child. This method for disease detection has become a tool for sex detection leading to another stage of cruelty towards female. deep roots in some of the communities in India. Various methods were and are adopted not to allow a female child to live. In Rajasthan, a girl child has not been able to secure a favourable place for herself in the society. There may have been many reasons for this mindset which can be a good point for debate. Certain practices which must have been started in during the rule of Muslim kings in India since Rajasthan and Gujarat were closely associated with Muslims. We have references to the practice of Sati and Jauhar from Rajasthan. To avoid this situation for their daughters, the girl child was denied the natural right to live. Many Jat communities also resort to this practice, may be to keep the land within the family only, as, the division of land would have deprived the family of their only source of livelihood. People started aborting the female foetus even in the stage when it was dangerous for the life of the mother. Female infanticide has more or less now been replaced with female foeticide. This female foeticide in the last few years have taken such untoward dimensions that the government had to pass certain laws to stop this unlawful and unethical practice of sex detection leading to abortion of the female foetus. Private clinics and doctors known to have indulged in such practices have been punished under the law. However, this violence against even female foetus is really shameful and a scar on the society. This has to be changed before it is too late. The social norms attached to the birth and death of a person needs to be reformulated. The rituals and traditions need to be adapted and accepted by the society considering new social set up and absolutely different family formulations. Above all, inheritance should be equal between sons and daughters. This wish for sons which was originally for certain reasons which lost its original purpose over time. New reasons associated with the death and other rituals started being attributed to wishing for the birth of a male child or a son. Today, this longing for sons still exists in spite of the fact that daughters are professionally, socially and economically on the same footing as the sons, has gained a deadly proportions. This development is irrational, irresponsible Attitudinal changes have though been started, yet it has to go a long way when our only concern will be to have a healthy child rather than to know whether it is a male child or a female child. 25