By IANS,
Jaipur : A village council in Rajasthan will honour women who give birth to a girl child in their first delivery with a view to check cases of female foeticide and infanticide, officials said Wednesday.
The women will be honoured at official ceremonies in the village to celebrate the Independence Day (August 15) and the Republic Day (Jan 15) every year, they added.
The announcement has been made by the council of Usarani village near Kumher town in Bharatpur district, some 150 km from Jaipur.
“Several cases of female foeticide and infanticide are being reported in our area. Some cases came to light when foetuses of girls are found abandoned. However, most cases go unreported. So we came up with this idea to check the evil practice,” head of village council sarpanch Sushila Singh told IANS.
She said that the nurses and mid-wives in Usarani and three nearby villages have been asked to prepare a record of women who gave birth to girl children in their first delivery.
“In fact, we have received the first report. A total of 46 children were born from Jan 1 to July 31 this year. Of them, 29 were girls, while 17 were boys. Of the total girl children born in the area over this period, 16 were the first children,” said Singh.
She said that the 16 women will be honoured by senior politicians in the government and district administration offices on the Independence Day. The women have been assured full cooperation by the administration in taking care of their babies for a few months after their birth.
“Honouring these woman would raise awareness among the villagers,” she added.
The state suffers from a skewed sex ratio. According to Census 2011, Rajasthan now has 883 girls between the ages of 0-6 for every 1,000 boys. The child sex ratio in 2001 was 909.