08-18-2005, 10:25 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From Pioneer 18 Aug., 2005
<b>NCW blames two-child norm for rise in female foeticide </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The national Commission for Women (NCW) has criticised the two-child norm introduced by some states saying that the practice has aggravated the social evil of female foeticide. The commission has further recommended a six monthly or annual monitoring of birth-related statistics for formulating strategies.
Addressing the concern of declining sex ratio in the country, the NCW member Malini Bhattacharya said, <b>"A few states, in their zeal to control population, have introduced the two-child norm and formulated certain population policies which are encouraging female foeticide." </b>
Complaining against the political disincentives she noted that the exclusion of people having more than two children from the panchayat was working against the implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technologies (PNDT) Act which aims at stopping sex selection and elimination of the foetus.
Describing the infrastructure put in place by the state governments to prevent female foeticide as "not very active," she added that the committees formed at the state level to implement the PNDT Act hardly meet or if they did, it was only to give out licences to ultrasound clinics.
She also raised her apprehensions over such clinics observing that the records of ultrasound clinics had to be studied and further strengthened.
Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary in the Department of Women and Child Welfare said that <b>"female literacy, maternal mortality rate and statistics on the age at which women are getting married" should decide the development levels of the country.</b>
To this Ms Bhattacharya said,<b> "instead of waiting for the census to formulate strategies, an annual check of birth-related statistics should be carried out."Â </b>
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<b>NCW blames two-child norm for rise in female foeticide </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The national Commission for Women (NCW) has criticised the two-child norm introduced by some states saying that the practice has aggravated the social evil of female foeticide. The commission has further recommended a six monthly or annual monitoring of birth-related statistics for formulating strategies.
Addressing the concern of declining sex ratio in the country, the NCW member Malini Bhattacharya said, <b>"A few states, in their zeal to control population, have introduced the two-child norm and formulated certain population policies which are encouraging female foeticide." </b>
Complaining against the political disincentives she noted that the exclusion of people having more than two children from the panchayat was working against the implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technologies (PNDT) Act which aims at stopping sex selection and elimination of the foetus.
Describing the infrastructure put in place by the state governments to prevent female foeticide as "not very active," she added that the committees formed at the state level to implement the PNDT Act hardly meet or if they did, it was only to give out licences to ultrasound clinics.
She also raised her apprehensions over such clinics observing that the records of ultrasound clinics had to be studied and further strengthened.
Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary in the Department of Women and Child Welfare said that <b>"female literacy, maternal mortality rate and statistics on the age at which women are getting married" should decide the development levels of the country.</b>
To this Ms Bhattacharya said,<b> "instead of waiting for the census to formulate strategies, an annual check of birth-related statistics should be carried out."Â </b>
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