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
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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
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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
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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