Gender bias against girl child

• India is grappling with a deep-seated gender bias against the girl child, exacerbated by the demographic transition and a historical preference for sons.
• The decline in fertility rates has inadvertently intensified the preference for male children, leading to a skewed female-male sex ratio at birth.
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently published the State of the World Population 2020 report, titled ‘Against my will: defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality.’
• This report sheds light on 19 human rights violations against women, with a specific focus on three prevalent issues: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), extreme bias favoring sons over daughters, and child marriage.
• To address the concerning practices of sex-selection and female foeticide, the government took a significant step in 1994 by introducing the Prenatal Diagnostics Techniques Act. Subsequently, in 2003, this act underwent an amendment, evolving into the Prenatal Conception and Prenatal Determination Act (PCPNDT). The PCPNDT Act is designed to regulate sex selection both before and after conception, aiming to curb the deeply rooted bias against female children in the country.