Female foeticide: Why PM Modi used worst crime to attack Congress, Oppn parties

Women have endured crimes just because they are women. And the worst of those crimes is female foeticide. That is snuffing out a life determining the sex of the foetus right in the womb. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used this darkest of dark crime to attack the Opposition, including the Congress, for nipping the process of women's reservation in Parliament and Assemblies in the bud.

The use of the imagery of "bhrun hatya" (female foeticide) for killing of the Nari Shakti Bill by Modi was intended to hit the Opposition hard by associating it with a hideous crime. But was also a reminder of the government's Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, which helped in curbing female foeticide and bettering India's sex ratio at birth.

PM Modi addressed the nation on Saturday and lashed out at the Opposition for defeating the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill. The Bill, would have reserved 33% of seats in Parliament and state Assemblies, was defeated in the voting on Friday in the Lok Sabha. This was the first legislative defeat for the Modi government in 12 years. The attack came just a day later.

Modi accused the Opposition, specifically naming the Congress, DMK, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), for killing the name. He said both the Congress and the SP has wasted the opportunity to get rid of them being "anti-women parties".

"The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was a grand resolve to give new opportunities, new flight, and remove obstacles before the women of 21st century India. It was a sacred effort made with clear intent and honesty to give rights to 50% of the country, that is, half the population. It was an effort to make women co-travellers in India's journey of development and unite everyone," Modi said, denying any political motive behind the move.

He said Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was the demand of the times, and it was an effort to equally increase the strength of every state, to give more strength to the voice of all states in Parliament.

"But Congress and its allies committed foeticide of this honest effort in the House before the whole country. They committed foeticide. Parties like Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, and DMK are guilty of this foeticide. They are offenders against the Constitution of the country. They are offenders against the women of the country," said Modi.

Female foeticide is one of the worst crimes because a life is snuffed out in the womb itself because of the sex of the fetus.

The high rate of foeticide in the country made the government ban prenatal sex determination. Prenatal sex determination is illegal in India under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994. The law came into force in 1996.

Several states like Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra continued to have a skewed sex ratio at birth, with more boys than girls. A clear result of female foeticide.

Bans alone have rarely worked. Any societal change, needs a change in the mindset.

PM Modi in January 2015 launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme from Panipat, Haryana. The scheme became a national movement for the girl child and helped bettering the sex ratio in India. It increased sex ratio at birth to 930 in 2023-24 against 918 in 2014-15.

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