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Indian Pediatr 2015;52: 835 |
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Journey of a Girl Child in India During
Health and Disease
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S Sachidananda Kamath
National President, Indian Academy of Pediatrics,
2015.
Email: [email protected]
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Gender inequality can express
as inequalities in several dimensions – survival, natality, facilities,
ownership, sharing of household benefits and chores, and domestic
violence. Inequality in gender of one type may lead to gender inequality
of many other types. Gender inequality in health is evident as asymmetry
in mortality, sex-selective abortions, and differential care-seeking
[1]. Sex selection before birth and neglect of the female child after
birth leads to an altered sex ratio. There are 1076 women per 1000 men
in Europe and 1029 women per 1000 men in North America, but there are
only 914 women per 1000 men in India [2]. This is a further decline from
the figure of 927 females per 1000 males in 2001 Indian census [3].
During the last decade, the number of female children to male children
in the younger age group dropped from 945 per 1000 males to 927 per 1000
males. There are now 48 fewer girls per 1000 boys than there were in
1981 [4]. This is despite the fact that the survival rate for girls is
often more than that of boys in the younger age groups. These numbers
reflect neglect and mistreatment of the girl child in India.
The female child’s status in India indicates the
general attitude of the society towards women. Girls in the country are
at a higher risk of malnutrition and growth retardation. Many reports
highlight that girls are offered less food – both in terms of quantity
and quality – than boys, especially in Northern India [5]. This in turn
leads to anemia and poor weight gain during pregnancy, perpetuating the
cycle of intrauterine growth retardation and malnutrition. Status report
brought out by ‘Save the Children’ highlighted that India has the
largest gender survival gap in the World [6]. Indian girls are 61% more
likely than boys to die between the ages of 1 and 5 [6]. Gender-based
discrimination has also been documented in care-seeking during common
illnesses, including diarrhea and acute respiratory infections [7].
Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate for males and females are 88.4% and
74.4%, respectively. Many girls drop out of schools. Lack of basic
facilities for sanitation at school exposes girls to the risk of
assault, drop their attendance at schools, questions their dignity, and
even leads to genitourinary infections.
Reducing gender inequality in health may lead to
reduction in gender disparity in many other dimensions, and the benefits
of doing the same may also extend to future generations. Girls’
education and women’s empowerment also have major roles in reducing
gender disparity in child health. Synergistic efforts incorporating a
number of sectors like health, education, welfare, industry, labour,
information and environment are needed to reduce the gender gap in child
health.
References
1. Clark, S. Son preference and sex composition of
children: Evidence from India. Demography. 2002;37:95-108.
2. Office of the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner, India. National Summary, Census report 2011. New Delhi:
Ministry of Home affairs. Available from :
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ Accessed September 9, 2015.
3. Office of the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner, India. National Summary, Census report 2001. New Delhi:
Ministry of Home affairs. Available from:
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ Accessed September 9, 2015.
4. Fred A, Kishor S, Roy TK. Sex-selective abortions
in India. Population and Development Review. 2002;28:759-85
5. Dreze J, Sen A. India: Economic Development and
Social Opportunities. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994.
6. Save the Children. State of the World’s Mothers.
2008 Available from:
http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SOWM-2008-FULL-REPORT.PDF
Accessed September 9, 2015.
7. International Institute for Population Sciences.
National Family Health Survey, India. Key Findings Reports. Mumbai.
Available from: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/nfhs3_national_report.shtml
Accessed September 9, 2015.
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