In Nepal and in parts of South Asia, families tend to prefer baby boys; this has pushed many pregnant women to take extreme measures to make sure that they do not “shame” the family by giving birth to a girl. Female infanticide is one such measure and a recent report published at Nepal Weekly says that this heinous practice is on the rise in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.
The report says that last year 65% of babies found dead and abandoned around Kathmandu were girls. They were either still born or killed immediately after birth. It is shocking but parents often use most cruel ways to kill an infant. In one instance a baby girl’s body was found with “paan” stuffed in her mouth. “Paan” is variety of chewing tobacco wrapped in betel leaf commonly consumed in Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Although Nepal allows women to get abortions, many are not aware of the fact. In a society where girl child is seen as a burden, pregnant women face lot of pressure to keep the family happy. Some women, in desperation and under pressure, choose to take the extreme measure and kill their baby girl. Most often these murders go unnoticed by the law enforcement because the parents throw away the body in a river or hide it far way from their home. Thus the rate of conviction/prosecution is very low.
Killing a baby girl in womb is limited to those with financial means to get an ultra sound and an abortion. Majority of Nepali women live in rural areas and are not of aware of or cannot access these services because of financial reasons. The report says that the number of well-to-do families in Kathmandu who opt for infanticide is growing because they have legal cover and also can access the services. They abuse the law that allows abortion to kill unwanted girl child.
As we debate a woman’s right to choose and her right over her body, it is important that we think about hundreds of baby girls dying in Nepal.How can we find a balance that honors a woman’s right to choose as well as keeps unborn baby girls safe?
One Comment
I think that you’re failing to make a clear distinction between the two VERY different issues of sex-selective abortion and infanticide. Terminating a pregnancy is not the same thing as murdering an infant child. It’s important that we remember that the tragedy here is not abortion, but the fundamental devaluing of people who are women, whether child or grown. For that reason (and innumerable others), I vehemently oppose restricting abortion based on the woman’s motivations. We need to focus on fixing the real problem: women are devalued there, here, and everywhere to varying degrees. What are the conditions that lead parents to kill their girl infants? How can that be changed?