Rope in religious gurus to check female foeticide - Sushma

Cuttack, Sep 1 (UNI) Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Sushma Swaraj today appealed to the youth to rope in religious leaders in the campaign to check rising cases of female foeticide in the country.

Inaugurating the national drive to save the female foetus, organised by the Marwari Yuva Manch, a voluntary organisation here, Ms Swaraj said since religious gurus have great influence on Indian society, they should be associated with every effort to make the drive a success.

Besides religious gurus, senior citizens and people with social standings should also be involved in the campaign, she said.

Commenting on the drive christened, 'Jago ma jago', a campaign to sensitise mothers to take up the cudgel against female foeticide, the former Union Minister said only sensitising mothers would not bring results, as women have a very little say on the issue.

Fathers should take also take a pledge to protect the female foetus by preventing abortion by their wives carrying a girl child, she said.

Ms Swaraj said even though Indian culture did not allow abortions, cases of female foeticide were still on the rise in the country because of the government's promotion of the two child norm and social myths that only a son could bring fame and name to the family, save the family (generation) and grant parents salvation if a son performed their last rites.

However, daughters like Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Sheikh Hasina had already proved the notion wrong by rising to glory, she said.

Girls have excelled in all fields by outperforming the boys, she said, adding it was wrong to believe that female foeticide occurred as the poor parents killed the girl child to escape from dowry.

Ms Swaraj said female foeticide was also rampant in developed states like Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and mostly practised by the Sikh and Jain communities.

She said only law or administration could not check the social evil and appealed to people to work unitedly to achieve the objective.

National Commission for Women member Manju Snehalata Hembram said the low male-female ratio was acute in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. She said the skewed ratio also led to crimes like rape in Rajasthan.

In certain pockets of Punjab and Haryana, one girl was being married to many brothers due to shortage of brides. Ms Hembram expressed her concern over the finding of a large number of female foeticide cases in the Nayagarha district of Orissa recently and promised all help of the Commission to check it.

Orissa Higher Education Minister Sameer Dey and All India Marwari Yuva Manch president Anil Kumar Jajodia also spoke on the occasion.

UNI