Bhubaneswar: Even as the State has implemented the Modi government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, scheme in the all the 30 districts, the conspicuous signs of the battle of sexes have been still witnessed in many districts in Odisha, where the sex ratio at birth had dipped below the 2001 census level.
As the country is celebrating the National Girl Child Day on Sunday, the latest data available with the State Health Department points to an evolving concern in as many as 11 districts in Odisha, where the sex ratio at birth had turned alarmingly skewed for the girl child.
GENDER GAP DISTRICTS
The sex ratio at birth in Odisha in 2019-20 stood at 944 as against 941 in 2011 and 953 in 2001. As many as 11 districts – Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam Jagatsinghpur, Khordha, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh and Sambalpur had recorded a lower Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) vis-à-vis the average in the State.
The nagging concern is nine of the eleven districts had a SRB which is lower than the 2011 census figures.
THE SKEWED DISTRICTS
- Boudh (873) 2011 (978)
- Cuttack (911) 2011 (914)
- Dhenkanal (863) 2011 (877)
- Gajapati (901) 2011 (967)
- Jagatsinghpur (910) 2011 (929)
- Khordha (909) 2011 (916)
- Malkangiri (919) 2011 (995)
- Nabarangpur (928) 2011 (998)
- Sambalpur (923) 2011 (940)
UNFAIR TREND: While Boudh seems to be on the Nayagarh way, Cuttack, district headquarters Khordha and Jagatsinghpur have been the habitual offender districts –as far as SRB is concerned. The SRB in the districts is on the wane since the 2001 census. Two-decades have passed but the gender gap bridge grows longer here.
The districts like Gajapati, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri have recorded a drop in 2019-20 only. And they need to be on the watch list of the policymakers.
Though Nayagarh, which had rocked the national headlines in 2007 for large-scale foeticides, had a low SRB of 891 in 2019-20, the positive news is the district had posted an improvement in comparison to 2011 proportion of 855 girl children per 1000 male child.
Similarly, Ganjam, the home district of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has also recorded a lower SRB of 927 vis-à-vis 908 in 2011.
(The map below highlights the districts having low child sex ratio in Odisha)
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(Note: The gender gap is considered acceptable when the proportion stands at 952 girl children per 1000 male child).
GENDER NEUTRAL DISTRICTS
When the big developed cities took a down stride, two tribal and backward districts in the State had become a torchbearer of gender-neutrality in 2019-20. The tribal districts of Kandhamal and Koraput had exhibited a SRB –where the proportion of girl child stood higher than the males.
- Kandhamal (1012) 2011 (962)
- Koraput (1005) 2011 (979)
- Deogarh (1030) 2011 (927) -
The district of Deoghar had posted a decline during the decade ended in 2011. But a smart rise witnessed in the decade that followed (2019-20).
“The society in Odisha is still gender-biased. Every year the State reports cases of girl child abandonment from many places, which explains the attitude of the society. Many girl children die due to sex discrimination in the State. Besides, sex determination and female foeticide is another prime reason behind the dip in sex ratio at birth in the districts,” observed Rituparna Mohanty, social activist and feminist.
WHODUNIT: SEX DISCRIMINATION OR DETERMINATION?
As per Dr Sibabrata Das, Department of Applied Geography, Ravenshaw University,
“A fall in sex ratio at birth (SRB) is directly linked to sex determination and female foeticide alone. A study of SRS data since 2004-2011 reveals a big gap in SRB between urban and rural areas in the State, which indicate the prevalence of sex determination and female foeticide in Odisha.”
FEMALE FOETICIDE CASES
As per Odisha police records for the period of 2015 – 2019, the State had not recorded a single female foeticide case. The State Police had reported nearly 2-3 miscarriage cases over the years and one infanticide case in the year 2016.
“The State Government has a zero-tolerance policy towards female foeticide in Odisha. The PCPNDT department is directed to conduct raids and seal the ultrasonic clinics indulged in sex determination. We have taken up many programmes like Biju Kanya Ratan Yojana. Our programme ‘Kanya Sambhardhana Yojana’ in Nayagarh has helped in increasing the SRB over the years there. I will soon look into the details given,” said State WCD Minister Tukuni Sahu.
INSIDER'S TAKE
As per a senior functionary at the State PCPNDT cell,
“Not carrying out the proper audit by the district administrations has in a way provided help to the sonographers in many districts. As per the Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, there is audit form called F. A duly filled F-form has the checks and balances to detect the use of sonography for sex selection. Ultrasonic clinics deliberately left many vital columns blank to defeat the purpose of the PCPNDT Act. Only a proper audit can foil the menace.”