Caritas to create awareness against female foeticide

Caritas India will be soon launching campaigns against the malpractice of female foeticide and infanticide in India.

As part of its golden jubilee year programme, the social action wing of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India (CBCI) will launch several awareness programmes in association with Sister Doctors Forum of India (SDFI) and various other NGOs.

Father Varghese Mattamana, executive director of Caritas India, told a national daily that the skewed sex-ratio was a major concern across the country.

According to the recent census report there has been a decline in sex ratio to 914 females against 1000 males in the national level.

Fr Mattamana said the organisation's aim was to end discrimination against girls and improve sex ratio.

We want to spread the importance of having a girl child, among people who think they are a liability, he said.

India represents one of the most adverse Child Sex Ratio (CSR) figures amongst the Southeast Asian countries.

India witnesses more than 27,00,000 child deaths a year, with the figures for female children being much higher than male children, according to Save Girl Child organisation.

The child sex ratio has declined from 927 females against 1,000 males in 2001 to 914, which was described as a "matter of grave concern" by Census Commissioner of India C Chandramauli.

A recent study predicted that India would have 20% more men than women in the next two decades due to sex-selective abortion and preference for male child in some states.

Earlier studies had said about 5-7 lakh girls a year, or 2,000 girls a day go missing in India due to rampant female feticide.

The total male population in India in 2011 is 623.7 million and total female population is 586.5 million.