Uncovering the Layers of Sex Selection and Infanticide in India: A Review Paper

Abstract

Under pressure from various social, political and economic structures women have faced varying degrees and intensities of neglect at various stages of their lives. Along with narratives of development in various spheres of human activities, different cultural and historical modes of neglect and their manifestations have continued their existence, albeit with changing intensities, well into the new modes of world economy. The most common and profound representation of this neglect in quantified terms could be reflected through sex ratio and child sex ratio (0–6 years). A glossing overview of these statistics and related arguments and debates reflects higher vulnerability in survival of young girls, especially those between 0 and 6 years of age group. Son preference is not solely located under the controlled system of rigid patriarchy. There is also an imbrication of other equally controlling factors that impact the preferred sex of an unborn child. It, thus, becomes significant to understand how institutional structures entrenched in caste, class, religion and gender interact with and perpetuate and complicate the system of patriarchy and influence or support son preference. It is a collective amalgamation of social, political and scientific institutions that influence sex selection and have an impact on reproductive health of the women.