Not without our girls ( The Hindu: 25-11-2015)

The world is talking about our demographic dividend and our government also want to utilise it. But before that an age old concern must have a fresh look. It has been proved again through the new data of census that India prefers male child at the cost of female one. Beside this known phenomenon there is illusionary conception of birth advantage for male child. Survey says-

---22 million women said they had a girl and 28.5 said they had a boy, clear proof of large no. of male child been born.

Even we give slight genetical and biological advantage to male child of getting born more in comparison to female one, this huge difference indicate towards pre-natal sex selection. This unnatural disadvantage is more in small families. Survey says-

---half of all families have a boy and girl, another one-third have both boys and only one-sixth have both girls.

If we see large families there are more girls in comparion boys because of two reasons-

---family gone for repeated pregnencies till the male got born.

---family is too poor/lack of access to perform pre natal sex selection.

And it is proved by the fact that the youngest member of larger families is boy. These large families are either marginalised sections or poor ones.

One more thing got proved that without genuine transformation in gender relations the push for small families lead to more pre natal sex selection. As the drive for small families has become social norm in urban locations more male child are born.

At the other hand southern states of India has achieved remarkable success in lowering fertility to the extent that they have reached replacement levels of fertility ( Replacement fertility rate is the total fertility rate, the average number of child born per woman, at which a population extactly replaces itself from one generation to the next without migration. This rate is roughly one 2.1 child per woman for most of the countries.), at which population growth will stop and stabilise. The most admirable thing is that it happened without coercive method of one child policy like China. The main reasons for driving down fertility rate were-

---adequate education, access to health and economic prosperity, particularly for women.

Perceiving this India must down its fertility rate and go for smaller families but not at the cost of girl child. A meaning full conversation on gender equality, backed with gender equal economic regime will be fruitful otherwise just simply going forward at the cost of one sex will be a hollow demographic transition.