Steep fall in female birth figures in Maharashtra’s Beed district over last two years raises alarm

In Beed district of Marathwada region, a sharp decline in female births as compared to male births in the last two years has come to the fore. The figures in Patoda and Kej tehsils of the district are the most dismal, raising the concern of not just social organisations but also that of the administration.

In this regard, the non-governmental organisations have demanded a crackdown on doctors who conduct abortions of female foetuses.

At a meeting of the committee examining birth data in Beed district through Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT), it was discovered that in Patoda tehsil of the district, in the last two years, in comparison to 1000 boys, only 764 girls were born and in Shirur tehsil 848 girls were born while in Kej tehsil, births of only 888 girls per 1,000 boys have been recorded.

In the year 2018-19, the female birth ratio of the district was the highest at 961. After that, this proportion came down to 947 in 2019-20 and 928 in 2020-21.

A study has revealed that family members of pregnant women prefer to abort fetuses in neighboring states like Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to escape prosecution within Maharashtra. They also approach unregistered and fake doctors of other districts for this purpose.

"Beed district is in the 'Red' zone after such incidents came to light in the last few years. Since then, a lot of precaution is being taken. But in the last two years, which we call the Covid period, all the attention of the administration was focused on saving people from the pandemic and preventing it. Taking advantage of this, female foeticide rose in the district. Now we have focused our attention on how to deal with this dreadful and worrying situation,” Vaishali Mote, a non-official member of PCPNDT committee said.

“During a meeting with the civil surgeon from district hospital, Dr Suresh Sabale and member of PCPNDT committee Dr Asha Mirge, instructions were given to take special steps to stop such social malpractices. Similarly, we met District Collector Radhabinod Sharma and Additional SP Sunil Lanjekar to inform them about this concern. After discussing prevention measures, instructions were given to take appropriate steps. Moreover, the committees of PCPNDT decided to conduct a sting operation with the cooperation of district and police administration and police patils,” she added.

“MLA Saroj Ahire, MLC Manisha Kayande, MLA Pariniti Shinde and Marathi actress Nishigandha Wad are members of the committee.

On the basis of information gathered, it was revealed that there are a total 101 sonography machines in the district which are not registered. Out of these, 30 machines are currently closed. There is a similar situation in Latur and Osmanabad district of Marathwada region. So to prevent female foeticide, strict action should be taken against the culprits under the PCPNDT Act,” she said.

“Accordingly, all heads of district hospitals, police and district administration have been instructed to draw up an action plan within the next three months. PCPNDT committee will visit not only Marathwada region but go all over Maharashtra to take stock of the situation. In the same way, education and awareness programmes will be conducted to stop it. If these social evils are not stopped immediately, then the situation will worsen in the future, they feel. Interestingly, female foeticide is not seen among the poor or uneducated classes but is very prevalent in the rich and educated families. This is a matter of great regret," she added.

“Many abortions take place due to religious traditions and beliefs and feelings of insecurity,” says Manisha Tokale, a social worker who pointed out that superstition caused families to desire boys over girls. “The myth has yet to be broken that only boys can cremate parents as well as the entrenched belief that girls ultimately don't belong to their birth families. Moreover, the practice of dowry is yet to get eradicated despite the strict laws prevailing and thus parents believe while girls cost money at marriage, boys bring in hefty dowries and add to the family's wealth. While people are unafraid of the law, a concern among farmers is also the safety of girls while they are out in the fields and so there is consensus among most family members on aborting female fetuses,” she adds.

Abortions in mobile vans

According to Manisha Tokale, she has received many complaints that in order to avoid police action, many ‘Jhola Chhap’ doctors conduct sex determination tests in mobile vans, followed by abortions if the foetus proves to be female. Emphasizing on the need for counseling women during pregnancy, Tokale said that women should be told that a girl is not a curse.

“Many Indian women like Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, sports stars and other women have been high achievers and just like the example of Lord Krishna and Yashoda Maiyya is given to adopted children to make them feel loved and secure, the examples of Lata Mangeshkar, Sania Mirza, the Phogat sisters and other accomplished women should be popularised to fight female foeticide,” she added.

While Priyanka Gandhi's recent slogan of ‘Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ and awarding of 40 percent tickets to women in the just-concluded UP elections has helped empower women, Tokale feels that mere slogans like ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’ will not work unless the education of girls is made free and they are enabled financially so that parents' worries over their daughters' futures is contained.

The prevalent female foeticide in the districts has already led to a situation where 30-35 year old men still remain unmarried as there are not enough women for them to marry. "The balance of nature needs to be maintained, otherwise the situation in future could be even more frightening," she says.

There has already been a sinister case in Maharashtra of a doctor aborting female fetuses and serving them to his dog. Dr Sudam Munde of Parli in Beed district was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2000 for the abortion of dozens of women, and the death of a woman. Many people fell the punishment was inadequate. Moreover, after his release from prison, he was found to have returned to his practice (his license had been suspended for merely five years) and he was arrested again.

Social workers feel the existing laws are highly inadequate and there should be more deterrent measures against such malpractices.