Delhi govt gets newlyweds to take vow against female foeticide

New Delhi, Aug 17: As newlyweds Tarun and Swati got their marriage registered, they took another vow to complement the ones that solemnised their union, one which made them promise that they "shall not indulge in female foeticide".

In a significant initiative, Delhi government is asking all newlyweds to take an oath that they will not indulge in female foeticide and will take care of the girl child just like they would of the boys. The initiative by Revenue Department which kick-started on August 9 has so far had four newlyweds taking the pledge.

"We have started administering the oath to the newlyweds who visit the additional district magistrates' offices to register their marriage after tying the knot.

"The idea is to create awareness against female foeticide and encourage people to not opt for sonography to find out the sex of their children as that is illegal," said Som Naidu, ADM, Revenue Department. But the official said that taking the pledge is not compulsory to get the marriage registered.

"Couples do it voluntarily. We just request them to take the oath. We give them the handout and each of them reads it (the oath) aloud to take the vow," he said.

The initiative is the brainchild of North District Magistrate Mona Srinivas.

The move is in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision. In his Independence Day speech, Modi drew attention to the skewed sex ratio in the country and appealed to the people to bring an end to female foeticide.

"Today sex ratio is 940 girls to 1,000 boys. Who is creating this imbalance? Not God. I want to appeal to the doctors not to kill the unborn girl child for money... I appeal to mothers and daughters, don't kill girls in the hope of a boy," Modi had said.

PTI