On April 25 and 26, members of our research team, including Head of Research Dr. Manasi Mishra, were invited to participate at key speakers at the second Beti Bachao (Save the Girl Child) conference in Panipat, Haryana state. Beti Bachao was founded last year in Ambala by activists from 14 Indian states and meets annually to strengthen the campaign.

Organised by the Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) and Asha Parivar, the conference was jointly inaugurated by Chaudhary Virendar Singh, General Secretary of All India Congress Committee; Manimala, social activist and writer; Veena Behen from Gandhi Global Family; and eminent Pakistani peace activist Saeeda Deep. More than seven hundred people from across India participated in the conference.

By Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research

The brutal murder of two women in the presence of an entire village in Bhiwani, Haryana state, where two men beat two women to death for having an alleged affair, is just one of the nearly 1,000 so-called “honour” killings reported annually across India. According to local news reports, the men beat the first woman for nearly an hour in public until she died, before moving on to the other woman. Not a single person intervened, nor did anyone inform the police who arrived two hours after the incident ended. Even a day after the incident, when news reporters attempted to find eyewitnesses to recount the event, only a few young men in the entire community stepped forward to say anything.

Women’s groups across the country have demanded an explanation from Haryana’s Chief Minister for why illegal systems of justice (khap panchayats, similar to a village council) continue to pass judgments and declare punishments to supposed transgressors of local social norms. These barbaric acts, “honour” killings, are not only illegal but also demonstrate the complete collapse of law and order. In this most recent case, the district magistrate, panchayat leader and Chief Minister must be held accountable for allowing such crimes in their territories. Also, the villagers who mutely acted as spectators and refused to intervene must also be charged in a criminal court.

Only yesterday, India’s Supreme Court announced their judgment banning khap panchayats. The Supreme Court also instructed the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure the implementation of this law and enforce stringent punishment to perpetrators of so-called “honour” killings. This order is expected to bring relief to thousands of women who live under constant fear.

Women’s groups had been emphasising over the years that khap panchayats and illegal systems of justice must be banned, and the perpetrators of so called “honour” killings must be punished. It is about eliminating the constant fear of being judged and then punished at any moment by such illegal and biased “courts” even when we are living in a democracy with a fully functional judiciary.

We are relieved to see that the Supreme Court has finally, at long last, taken action, and I hope that this judgment will protect our sisters and daughters living in traditional rural settings. Now it is the duty of the state, the police and the society to protect their women from the inhuman verdicts of these illegal courts.

By Michelle Tan, Intern – Research Department.

Dressed in a plain brown Saree, a 44-year-old woman from a remote rural village in Ambala (Haryana state) peered at us curiously when we knocked on the broken, rusty gates of her house. “Namaste,” my colleague Amrita said. “We are from Centre for Social Research and would like to conduct a quick survey with you. Can we come in?” The woman nodded her head shyly, smiled at us and then excitedly beckoned us into the front yard of her house.

To say that she lived in a “house” might be somewhat of a misnomer, especially since her “house” was in fact really a shed, and there were half-laid stones and bricks strewn everywhere. The walls were Grey and incomplete, and construction had obviously long been in progress. We sat down on the only piece of furniture to begin what we had initially imagined would be a typical conversation on female foeticide—or, as typical as a conversation on female foeticide could be. What we didn’t expect was that our host would so warmly and immediately open up to us, revealing her most personal experiences of sexs election, discrimination and the ordeal she went through when standing up against it.

Already a mother of one boy and two girls, our host was pregnant for the fourth time when her in-laws and husband found out from a sonogram that she was once again expecting a girl child. Angered by the news, the family adamantly insisted that she should undergo an abortion. They, like so many in India, believed that a girl child was a waste of family resources. A girl, they argued, was of no particular value and as a result of dowry, she would also be impossibly expensive. But unlike many mothers who silently suffered, our host was strong-willed and refused to give up her child or undergo an abortion. She was henceforth disgraced and expelled from her family, slammed in the face with a quick divorce. Shamed by the scandals of their daughter, her parents put her up for a second arranged marriage. She married again, but her husband died young in the Indian army, and she became a widow. At the moment, she continues to bravely and independently support four young children on her own—an incredibly rare, brave and admirable feat especially in rural India.

We left that day, humbled and in awe of this incredibly strong woman. Her story serves as a painful and grave reminder that female foeticide, for all its supposed allegations and denials, is still a real and pervasive reality in much of Indian society today. Her story reminds us that women who transgress from the norm and elect to stand up against their family to save a female fetus risk losing their livelihoods, if not their lives. Her story stands out not only because she was empowered in spite of lacking a formal education or any privileges whatsoever, but also because she spoke with no complaint and no expectations of sympathy. That’s where she stands victorious: because this one woman in her plain brown Saree does not see herself as an object of pity, but as a woman in her totality who can and will get her due in her own right.

View more photos from the April 5-7 baseline study in Ambala at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.

Yesterday, our Research team held a Community Watch Group meeting as part of our Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project at the anganwaadi (daycare) centre in the Manav Chowk and Kotwali Sarai areas of Ambala, Haryana.The meeting brought together over 30 women from the local community as well as young girls and boys.

Major issues discussed included the need for educating boys and girls so that they know more about their rights and duties as community and family members. Many women called for recruiting more men to Community Watch Group meetings to enlist their help in spreading awareness about pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide) and the need for equality between genders.

Community Watch Groups meetings are an important part of our team’s work on violence against women, female foeticide and overall efforts to promote gender equality. They represent an important opportunity to interact with local communities and share ideas on how best to move forward on these issues.

The second Interface workshop under our comprehensive Meri Shakti Meri Beti project was held at the Panchayat Bhawan of Kurukshetra, Haryana state on March 4, with thanks to our funders: WomenPowerConnect and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Bahari Mohalla(community) residents of all ages attended the meeting with aaganwadi (daycare) and ASHA workers, and students from Kurukshetra University and the Kurukshetra College of Education. The designated “Expert Group” included Dr. Sushma Saini, Chief Medical Officer, and Ms. Deepshikha Kaushik, Domestic Violence Officer.

Initiating the workshop, our own Dr. Manasi Mishra spoke about the wider social and economic implications of pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide). To successfully address pre-natal sex selection, the status of women must increase by changing the deeply patriarchal mindset in communities and families. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saini pointed out that ultrasound technology was invented to assist medical treatment and not to perpetuate a social malice like female foeticide. Other speakers, including members of the local community, spoke about the high cases of domestic violence in parts of Haryana and the importance of taking more responsibility to care for girl children.

To date, the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project to reduce pre-natal sex selection has organised over 40 Community Outreach Programs, nine Community Watch Group meetings, two Expert Group meetings and one Interface Workshop in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana state.

To view more photos from event, visit Center for Social Research’s Flickr account.

Continuing in our efforts to fight female foeticide, our Research department led an Expert Group Meeting in Kurushetra, Haryana as part of the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project last week. We were honoured that our meeting was attended by both local community members and figures from the local medical community, including the Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Hospital, Kurukshetra Dr. Sushma Saini; PC/PNDT Officer Dr. K.K.Sharma; Family Welfare Officer Dr. Madhu Sharma; and the Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr. Lajya Ram.

The main purpose of the meeting was to look into how ultrasound machines are actually registered, and how portable machines are being used and transported. We also discussed the follow-up of two long-pending legal cases, heard community members’ concerns about 3 new area clinics, and talked about the level of awareness amongst doctors to combat pre-natal sex selection.

Dr. Manasi Mishra, our Head of Research and the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project coordinator, also highlighted some of the recent initiatives by the Haryana government in fighting female foeticide. They have introduced cash rewards of Rs. 5 lakhs, 3 lakhs and 1 lakh ($11,200, $6,700 and $2,235 USS) for best sex ratio state districts. Additionally, informers who can provide information relating to illegal practises will receive a Rs. 5,000 ($110 USD) reward. However, some argued that the prize money awarded from the government is much too meagre, and no one will ever risk his life for it.

Overall, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity for medical professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the problem of female foeticide: It’s heartening to be able to join forces with committed medical professionals who are as determined to end this practise as we are.

By Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head of Research and Knowledge Development at CSR

Last Friday, we headed out to Kureukshetra College of Education in Dhurala village, Kurukshetra district, Haryana state to address the issue of female foeticide. This signature campaign is part of CSR’s Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project, which aspires to create awareness of the critical problem of female foeticide and the effective implementation of the PC&PNDT Act. The sex ratio in India has largely been in favour of boys and continues to grow particularly in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

Nearly 100 students signed our petition, pledging to support the prevention of female foeticide in their communities.Many of the students were curious to know why female foeticide was still occurring in parts of Haryana. Male and female students were of the belief that they are living in a community where equal opportunities are granted to women, although they did comment on the increasing number of new brides arriving from out of state. The sex ratio in Dhurala village is approximately 600 women for every 1,000 men—an astounding figure.

On the same day, a Community Watch Group (CWG) meeting in nearby Bahari Mohalla was also conducted in the afternoon to reinforce knowledge and information about the PC& PNDT Act among community women.

See more photos from these events and other grassroots Meri SHakti, Meri Beti meetings at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.

We’re launching a massive awareness campaign on the issue of female foeticide and infanticide on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The United Nations has designated 25 November as a day to bring awareness to acts of violence targeted at women across the globe. Female foeticide and infanticide are a form of violence against women and are the most serious crimes against the women of India today. We’ve already begun to collect the signatures of young men and women across Delhi and Haryana with the hope of collecting 5,000 signatures by World Human Rights Day on 10 December. As the next generation of parents, the decisions of these young people will shape the future of India. We’ll also be organising a public demonstration at DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj on 25 November.

We’re also extremely pleased to be continuing our Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project into 2011, supported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. This project is a study of female foeticide in 20 villages and 10 blocks in the Ambala and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana, the two weakest sex-ratio districts of Haryana.

In the last 20 years, it is estimated that over 10 million girls in India have been lost to female foeticide abortion or infanticide. According to the 2001 Census, there were only 865 females for every 1,000 males in Delhi. This shocking statistic is part of a greater trend that shows the sex ratio continuing to decline across India. Evidence also suggests that sex-selective abortions are shifting from urban-centric to more rural areas. While there are laws in place, such as the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act of 1994 (PC & PNDT), the declining sex ratio is an indication that the law is not being enforced effectively, and that many women are not informed of their rights surrounding this issue. Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head of Research at CSR added, “Though there is denial at the field level that sex-selection abortions are taking place in their community, the declining sex ratio clearly speaks the truth. Now the time has come when we have to accept the truth and stop this crime from taking place.”

We’ve created this campaign to create awareness and mobilize the public opinion to pressure the government to act swiftly to counter this deadly phenomenon. On the 10^th of December, World Human Rights Day, we will present the collected signatures to the Health Minister.

Fight against female foeticide in India: Sign our online petition today!