shaheediyan Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 This is so sad and sickening, when is our community going to address the source of the problem i.e. dhaaj and excessive weddings.. which poor people with girls to marry cannot afford.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7123753.stm UK Indian women 'aborting girls' Female infanticide is highest in some of India's wealthiest districts A study suggests Indian women in the UK are aborting unborn daughters so they can have more boys, the BBC's Asian Network has learned. The Oxford University study suggests 1,500 girls are "missing" from the birth statistics in England and Wales from 1990 to 2005. It shows the proportion of boys compared with girls born to Indian-born mothers has increased since the 1970s. Dr Sylvie Dubuc said this could be due to "sex selective abortion". See sex-ratio of births to Indian born women Dr Dubuc, who studied birth rates of different ethnic groups in England and Wales, found that in the 1970s 103 boys were born for every 100 girls. Between 2000 and 2005, the proportion of boys over girls had increased abnormally to 114 boys for every 100 girls, she said. Unfortunately it was another girl - my husband and I thought the burden would probably be too much Unnamed British woman Britain's unwanted girls Figures showed 26,662 babies were born to Indian-born women in England and Wales from 1990 to 2005, excluding the first or second child. "According to my calculation around 1,500 girls are missing... it's significant compared to the total number of births," Dr Dubuc said. She said the most probable explanation seemed to be sex selective abortion by a minority of mothers born in India. Reconstruction: 'Meena' went to India to abort her daughter Full interview One British woman, who spoke to the BBC anonymously, said she had an abortion after a doctor in India found she was to have a fourth daughter. "Unfortunately it was another girl. My husband and I thought the burden would probably be too much and the pressure when I got back home. So we decided to terminate," she said. In Indian culture, the preference for boys over girls is well known. Getting rid of baby girls is a practice that is so widespread in some parts of India that it has skewed dramatically the ratio of males to females. Female foeticide, as it is known, has been illegal in India since the early 1980s. It is also illegal to offer scans to find out the sex of a baby - but the law is regularly flouted. Undercover filming To see how difficult it is to find a doctor willing to carry out the service, the BBC sent a British couple to one of Delhi's top gynaecologists, Dr Mangala Telang - a doctor recommended by the British High Commission. Dr Telang, an IVF treatment specialist, has practised in some of Delhi's top hospitals and has actually campaigned against female foeticide calling it an "evil" crime. The BBC had heard that her clinic would offer ultrasound scans to determine the sex of a baby - even though a sign in the waiting room clearly said it was illegal. FACTS AND FIGURES Female infanticide occurs in 80% of Indian states Worst-affected states include wealthiest areas 927 girls born for every 1,000 boys Infant mortality rate: 60/1,000 Source: Unicef Secret filming shows that within minutes Dr Telang agreed to perform the scan. She warns the couple not to tell anyone about what they were doing as it is illegal. The couple also ask whether, if the unborn child is a girl and they decide to abort the baby, she could recommend someone to carry out a termination. Dr Telang says: "Yes, I can recommend someone." In the ultrasound room, another doctor tells the couple the "good" news that it is a boy. Both doctors had broken several laws. When the BBC told the doctors about the evidence, they denied doing anything wrong. Dr Telang said she was not in the room when the scan was carried out. But she is clearly seen in the room congratulating the couple. Cultural pressures An estimated seven million girls have gone missing from India's population over the last 25 years. Some of them will have been killed after they were born, or allowed to die within their first few days. But most of them will have been aborted. Selective abortion is happening all over India as ultrasound machines - which carry out the scan - have become cheaper, but it has always been worst in Punjab and Gujarat. It is impossible to say how many British women are travelling to India for terminations. But the UK has a substantial community with strong links to, and often the same pressures as, families in India. SEX RATIO OF BIRTHS TO INDIAN-BORN WOMEN IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1969-2005Birth of first or second child is excluded from these figuresYears Number of births Sex Ratio* 1969-79 51,635 103.0 1980-89 32,338 104.0 1990-2000 19,049 112.5 2000-2005 7,613 114.4 *Sex ratio shows the proportion of male to female babies. For example in 1969-79 there were 103 male births to every 100 female Source: An Increase in the Sex Ratio of Births to India-born Mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for Sex-Selective Abortion by Dubuc and Coleman 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahegurubol Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 this is happening in UK... well-educated, well-off and intelligent people are aborting girl babies, then what can one expect of the illerate people in india. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matheen Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 this is happening in UK... well-educated, well-off and intelligent people are aborting girl babies, then what can one expect of the illerate people in india. I wouldn't call them intelligent.....and having been to school doesn't mean you're educated. It will stop when the punishment fits the crime - how many people go to prison for this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 It's not just illiterate people. Many of the middle class suburbs in India have appalling girl ratios to. The problem as I said is the "cost" of marrying a girl due to out-dated traditions like dhaaj and new ones like extravagent parties. The UK, US and CA is of course to blame, I doubt if ever measured, that US or CA Punjabi stats would be any better, almost certainly they would be worse due to the much higher Punjabi immigration to the Americas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Abortion isn't against the law, unfortunately. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahegurubol Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I pray to God to give me a daughter girl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 If you don't get one, you can always adopt one of the many thousands that have been orphaned whilst their parents are still alive. I know a truely blessed family in South London. The father of the household wanted to adopt whilst his 2 children (girl and boy) were still young. But when he ran the idea past his children, they said no, as they felt that his attention and love would taken away fro them. He respected their wishes, they are now successful, responsible Gursikh adults, and he has adopted 3 young Punjabi girls from the the Midlands. The parents were druggies and could look after the girls so gave them up for adoption. The eldest girl is completed paralysed, so will now be lloed after by Sardar ji for the rest of her lifee. The 2 younger girls have fallen in love with Sikhi and the family and are absorbing the new Gursikh lifestlye like sponges, they have never recieved love before or been spoken to as adults. I felt like touching Singh Sahibs feet when I found out about his mahaan seva, and I only found out by chance. He told me that there are hundreds of abandoned Sikh children in the UK, but they are also the least adopted in comparison to any other faith group. Our people are apparently to proud to adopt, as it sends the wrong signals to their "khandaan" and social circle about their virility! Another sad truth about our people. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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