BRINGING SHAME ON FEMALE FETICIDE IN RAJASTHAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001938 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL, S/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN ECON PREL SOCI IN SUBJECT: BRINGING SHAME ON FEMALE FETICIDE IN RAJASTHAN REF: A. NEW DELHI 654 ¶B. NEW DELHI 1653 ¶C. 06 NEW DELHI 0930 NEW DELHI 00001938 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On an April 10-14 trip to Rajasthan, Poloff met with government officials, NGO's and others combating female feticide. They outlined hopeful new steps they are taking. Although only in the early stages, such programs hold promise in making inroads against female feticide and deserve USG support. In India, female feticide, infanticide and dowry deaths, have led to a growing gender imbalance (refs A, B, and C),which continues to attract negative national and international attention. Currently India has a gender ratio of 927 girls for every 1000 boys. Social, religious, cultural, and legal mechanisms reinforce the deeply held belief that girls are less valuable than boys and contribute to the growing number of "missing" girls. The problem is most acute in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. According to census data, Rajasthan's female/male ratio widened between 1991 and 2001 from 919:1000 to 909:1000. In Rajasthan, USAID-funded projects working with grassroots organizations are changing mindsets, combating female feticide, and mobilizing the community. However, with attitudes so deeply entrenched, it may take years to reduce female feticide and increase the gender ratio. END SUMMARY. A GROWING PROBLEM IN RAJASTHAN -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Whereas the average gender ratio in India is 927:1000 (females:males),according to the Census, levels in Rajasthan deteriorated from 919:1000 in 1991 to 909:1000 in ¶2001. On April 12, PolOff met with Meeta Singh, from the international NGO IFES (Note: the organization used to be known as the International Foundation for Election Systems, they retained their acronym but dropped the words when they expanded services beyond election work. End Note.),who provided depressing statistics verifing the spread of feticide. She noted that in the 1991 Census, two of Rajasthan's 32 districts showed a female ratio under 900 per 1000 males. By 2001, that number jumped to ten, with the worst offending district having a ratio of only 850:1000. Singh recounted older methods of female infanticide, including suffocation or opium overdoses. Now, Singh declared, baby girls are either aborted or, after birth, left in the cold to get pneumonia. Singh contrasted India's ratio to that in most "western countries," where she said the ratio is an advantageous 1005:1000. ¶3. (SBU) Poloff's conversations with those involved in combating female feticide indicated that feticide has become a lucrative business. Informants pointed out that medical practitioners and government workers are often complicit in pushing, persuading and cajoling women to abort their girl children. Singh described feticide as a $116 million industry, and pointed out that although the Pre-Natal Determination Test (PNDT) Act, passed in 1994, defines sex selected abortion as illegal, enforcement is lax or nonexistent. THE DIGNITY OF THE GIRL CHILD -------------- NEW DELHI 00001938 002.2 OF 003 ¶4. (SBU) Singh described a multi-pronged, dynamic partnership involving USAID, IFES, the Rajasthan government, and local Rajasthani NGO's to combat female feticide. In 2003, USAID and IFES launched the Women's Legal Rights Initiative (WLRI), to help Indian organizations in Rajasthan and Karnataka support women protecting their rights and increase their access to justice. WORKING WITH THE RAJASTHANI GOVERNMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) USAID-IFES launched the "Dignity of the Girl Child" component of the project in Rajasthan in 2004 (Note: To date, total investment in this program is $1.3 million. End Note.) The program relies on research and community intervention to attack female feticide. With the permission of the Rajasthan government, USAID-IFES collected evidence confirming that the PNDT law is not being adequately enforced. According to Singh, USAID-IFES won over the suspicious Rajasthan government by emphasizing that the program was meant to "assist the government, not threaten it." The research found that government officials responsible for implementing and enforcing the law, were ignorant of its provisions and intent. For example, the PNDT law established an advisory committee on feticide in each state and appointed a state Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) to enforce it. Despite this, the CMHO in Rajasthan did not know about the law or his role in its implementation. USAID-IFES also found that individuals purportedly serving on the advisory board were unaware of their membership. After USAID-IFES presented its findings to the Rajasthan government, it created a technical support cell, consisting of a medical doctor, social scientist and lawyer to ensure the law's implementation. The government also established a help line to provide up to date information and counseling to women. Singh told us that although the help line is often engaged or no one answers the phone, she remains optimistic about these first steps. ¶6. (SBU) USAID-IFES is also developing a teaching module for health care providers to help them understand the PNDT law and their responsibilities in its implementation. The Rajasthan government intends to use the module in its health institutions. USAID-IFES hopes to convince private institutions also to use the module. COMMUNITY INTERVENTION AND ACTION -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Regarding intervention, Singh told PolOff that USAID-IFES is working to change the mindset of communities and increase awareness of PNDT among local NGOs. To date, USAID-IFES has trained approximately 170 NGOs on the PNDT law and selected seven for additional training on how to press charges against clinics and doctors committing female feticide. Singh commented that some doctors have "megalomaniacal complexes" and only respond to fear of legal consequences. In this regard, it is important to give grassroots leaders the tools to demand law enforcement. ¶8. (SBU) According to Singh, USAID-IFES works with local NGOs in five Rajasthani districts covering 750 villages. For example, in the Ganganagar district, which has the worst gender ratio in Rajasthan (850:1000),whenever a boy is born, the villagers beat a metal plate through the village to NEW DELHI 00001938 003.2 OF 003 celebrate the birth. In contrast, when girls were born, parents are often sullen or mark the day with a much smaller celebration. Today, local NGOs celebrate the birth of girls with the same beating of a metal plate that marks the birth of boys. Also, in Ganganagar, a Brahmin priest used the occasion of a mass wedding of over 20 couples in front of 1000 guests to denounce feticide and ask participants to take an oath not to engage in the practice. ¶9. (SBU) In 2005, USAID-IFES started meetings with caste and community leaders from members of the Rajput, Jat, Jain, Brahmin, and Maheshwari castes. With support from the Rajasthan University Women's Association (RUWA),USAID-IFES held workshops for 30 leaders from each community. During the workshop, the leaders were provided data about feticide in their communities and urged to join the fight against it. Although leaders were initially reluctant, they eventually realized that female feticide was a serious problem and agreed to take action. Kuldeep Kaur, a 73 year old women, convinced 20 Sikh Gurudwaras (temples) in Jaipur to discuss feticide and urge their worshippers to take oaths against it. Kaur was also the driving force behind the mass marriage and oath taking in Ganganagar district. In February, Kaur led a 2.5 kilometer march through 25 villages to raise awareness about feticide and convince villagers to sign oath cards. Singh noted other successes, including convincing Panchayat (local government) leaders to publicly honor couples with two girls who have stopped having children. The NGO also convinces children to write slogans and develop murals outside their homes against female feticide. COMMENT: MAKING INROADS, A GROWING PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) USAID and IFES are working closely with local communities to create a self-sustainable anti-feticide program. Although the results may appear merely symbolic at times, the program is a step in the right direction. Singh lamented that the Secretary with whom they have developed a relationship has recently been transferred, reducing their influence with the state government level. She hoped that this setback would not slow down the program. Despite this, Singh was pleased to report of a growing people's movement against feticide in Rajasthan. She noted that hardly a month goes by without a protest or efforts by grass roots groups to convict doctors committing feticide. Although only two years old, this project seems to have made incredible inroads and could serve as a model for other groups trying to stop female feticide. End Comment. MULFORD