CENSUS CONSENSUS: WOMEN OUTNUMBERED

The disappearing sex. Even as women in Delhi stand up to be counted in all walks of life, the number games is pushing them down. And there is no greater indicator of this harsh reality than the sex ratio in the city which, according to the last census, pegs the proportion of women to men in Delhi at 821:1,000.

“The ratio of women to men in Delhi is one of the lowest nationwide on account of a number of factors. Over the years, there has been an alarming divide in the girl:boy ratio in the 0-6 years age group. Simultaneously, the high number of male immigrants in the Capital is responsible for making the existing sex-ratio figures as skewed as they are. But the biggest factor is foeticide. The desire of couples to have a male child has given birth to a malpractice which, though banned, continues to exist on the sly,” says C Chakravarty, joint director of the Delhi government’s data dissemination wing.

            Adds gynaecologist SK Arora, “Despite a ban on sexdetermination tests, even people from educated families continue to propagate this malpractice. Foeticide based on the desire to have a male child is an offence which should be met with the harshest possible punishment.” Side by side, a look at the city’s crime statistics reveals that hardly any unscrupulous doctor offering illegal sex-selection techniques has been booked.

            Going by the black and white of the 2001 census, which puts the average national sex ratio at 933:1000, Delhi, with a population of 1,37,82,976, has a sex ratio which is one of the lowest in the country. To put Delhi’s sex ratio of 821:1,000 in perspective, here are the figures of states high up on the ladder: Kerala: 1,058:1,000; Pondicherry: 1,001:1,000; Tamil Nadu: 9861:1,000; Andhra Pradesh: 978:1,000.

A social disaster is being propagated right under Delhi’s nose. For, considering the rate at which the sex ratio is becoming more lopsided by the day, the day is not far when Delhi’s men might have to seek marital alliances in other states-not that the situation is diametrically different in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

“If the practice of conducting sex-determination tests and foeticide continues in this manner, it can only result in disastrous consequences. Can you imagine the implications of living in a society without women? Fewer women will not only restrict the choice of men, but also translate into fewer marriages and fewer children, thus affecting the very circle of life,” points out sociologist Anniruddh Roy.”

Demographers have been pointing out for years that neither education nor affluence has any significant impact when it comes to discrimination against the girl child. On the contrary, it is precisely the upper end of society which has access to modern technology that facilitates the elimination of the girl child almost at the conception stage. “In fact, the sex-ratio decline is far more pronounced in economically developed states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana, apart from Delhi,” informs Chakravarty. A terrifying parody of the famous song ‘Where have all the young men gone? Is being played out in Delhi today. Worse still, this parody’s days – unlike the falling sex ratio in the city – are not numbered.