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ShareThere is a dearth of girls in the city. The sex ratio -- at birth and overall -- is skewed because of a strong and unjustified preference for sons, the human development report says. The BMC released the report last week. For every 1,000 boys, there are only 809 girls in the city.
To make matters worse, the sex ratio at birth is declining. In 2006, it was 919.5 girls for every 1,000 boys. The report, compiled by the All-India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has blamed sex determination tests that lead to abortion of the female foetus.
The craving for a boy child is so intense, says the report, that people do not mind violating the law and going for selective abortions. "There has been some active and clandestine misuse of advanced scientific techniques to enable pre-birth medical termination of pregnancy," the report says.
Though sex determination tests are banned in the country, several maternity clinics continue to do it. The report also blames the public health department of the BMC for failing to take action against such clinics.
Contrary to popular belief that the poor want to get rid of the girl child, the craving for a boy is more prevalent among the educated and the rich. Elimination of the female foetus is more pronounced among them, the report says. Quoting the recent ward-wise data on child gender composition, the report says the sex ratio is most skewed in areas dominated by the rich.
The C municipal ward -- the only ward without any slum -- covers the area from Kumbharwada to Fanaswadi in South Mumbai. But it has the worst sex ratio (587 girls for every 1,000 boys). The A ward, which covers Colaba and Cuffe Parade, comes second with 733 girls for every 1,000 boys.
Other areas in South Mumbai such as the B ward (735 girls) and E ward (755 girls) do not have much to boast of either. "The propertied classes do not desire daughter/ daughters because after marriage of the daughter, the son-in-law will demand a share in property," the report says. "Hence in the richest areas in Mumbai, the most skewed sex ratio is found.
"The property-less class, meanwhile, believes in disposing of daughters to avoid dowry. They, however, do not mind accepting dowry for their sons."
