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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MUMBAI 000142 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN KDEM IN
SUBJECT: WOMEN IN INDIA:  CHALLENGES FOR GIRLS 
 
REF: A. 05 NEW DELHI 6179 
     ¶B. 06 NEW DELHI 930 
     ¶C. 08 NEW DELHI 654 
 
MUMBAI 00000142  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:   The challenges for many females in India come 
long before entering the workforce:  female feticide, female 
infanticide, and high school-drop-out rate all inhibit the 
creation of a healthy, educated cohort of women in modern India. 
 In Western India, NGOs and state governments are attempting to 
address these problems in a limited way, and this cable offers a 
snapshot of these efforts.  Interlocutors agreed that India has 
in place good laws to address sex-selective abortions and other 
crimes against women, but with lax or no enforcement, and 
persistent societal views that value boys more than girls, the 
journey to healthy, productive adulthood remains arduous, if not 
impossible, for many women. End Summary. 
 
 
 
The struggle of infancy 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U)  In India, the first hurdle for many females is simply 
being born.  As Ref A details, India's census figures show that 
in 1991, the ratio of girls to boys ages zero to six was 945 per 
1000 boys, and the situation continued to decline, falling to 
927 girls per 1000 boys by 2001.  Most experts accredit this 
decrease in female births to the increased prevalence of sex 
determination tests (ultrasounds) which can lead to the abortion 
of female fetuses, despite a law banning the use of these tests 
enacted in 1996.  Dr. A.L. Sharada of Population First, Inc., a 
Mumbai based NGO, estimates that 900,000 more female fetuses 
have been aborted than male fetuses per year based upon the 
population discrepancy seen in the census statistics.  Sharada 
explains that girls are seen by their families as an economic 
burden, especially in the high costs of marriage - the dowry, 
wedding, and loss of her income once married.  For Hindus, the 
requirement of having a son to light the parent's funeral pyre 
also drives the anti-girl-child actions, she said. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U)  The attitudes leading to female feticide existed before 
the advent of modern medicine, however, as Indians relied on 
traditional methods to surmise the gender of the fetus, Sharada 
told Confenoffs.  For instance, gender was determined by whether 
the mother carried forward or sideways, whether the mother had 
extensive morning sickness early in the pregnancy and whether 
the mother had extensive swelling during her pregnancy.  Herbal 
medicines known to cause miscarriages were often used to 
terminate an unwanted pregnancy.  Modern medical imaging 
technology, however, has enabled a more reliable determination 
of sex, and the availability of surgical abortion has made the 
termination of the pregnancy safer to accomplish, Sharada noted. 
(Note:  Abortion for the health of the mother or in specific 
limited circumstances has been legal in India since 1971. End 
Note.) 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U)  The gender disparity statistics cited to combat 
sex-selective abortions also encompass female infanticide, since 
the census data groups children ages zero to six in the same 
figures.  UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report 
for 2007 found India to have an early childhood mortality of 
almost 10 percent: 99 out of 1000 children of both sexes die by 
age five.  UNICEF reported in 2006 that India's childhood 
mortality rate by age five is 76 per thousand.  Though much of 
the childhood mortality rate may be due to health care factors, 
some is intentional.  Sharada played for Congenoffs a short 
video in which women from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh described 
the various methods they had used to kill their unwanted girl 
children, such as crushing or suffocating them or feeding them 
tobacco.  Professor C.A.K. Yesudian, Head, School of Health 
Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences told 
Congenoffs of other less direct methods used, such as leaving a 
baby out in the rain where it might contract pneumonia then 
denying medical care.  Other scholars have pointed to the use of 
poisons or starving the girl-child to death as a means of 
eliminating unwanted girl children. 
 
MUMBAI 00000142  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
 
 
WESTERN INDIA EFFORTS TO CURB FEMALE FETICIDE AND INFANTICIDE 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  India has taken several measures to reverse the biases 
against girl children such as eliminating dowry, (the 1961 Dowry 
Prohibition Act), and making dowry killings a specific crime 
(Indian Penal Code 304B).  Sections 312- 317 of the IPC make it 
a crime to cause a miscarriage or the death of a newborn, or to 
abandon a child under twelve.  Sharada noted, however, that the 
practice of demanding dowry continues, as families still cling 
to their traditions, some arguing that dowry is the only way 
women are guaranteed a share of their family's assets, as they 
will not share in inheritance.  Using modern medicine to 
determine the sex of a fetus was made illegal in the 1996 
Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act, but Sharada says the law is 
flawed because it requires the medical community to police 
itself.  The law empowers a board comprised mostly of physicians 
to enforce the law.  The law carries a maximum penalty of three 
years imprisonment or a fine up to 10,000 rupees (200 USD), a 
cost, she said, that is more than covered by the fee for a 
single sex-determination test.  Sharada said that only one case 
since the enactment of the law has resulted in incarceration, 
and the other convictions, approximately 90, resulted only in 
minor fines. 
 
 
 
Madhya Pradesh Programs Address Girl Child 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  Recognizing the cultural and social attitudes that 
drive female feticide and infanticide, the state of Madhya 
Pradesh (MP) is attempting to address the gender disparity by 
providing an economic incentive to offset the financial burden 
of having girl children.  Under an incentive scheme called 
"Ladli Laxmi" (darling little goddess of wealth), the state 
promises to pay 2,000 Rupees (40 USD) to parents who register 
their girls with the program prior to their daughter's first 
birthday.  The program, however, is only available to families 
with two children or less.  Under another scheme called 
"Kanyadaan," MP offers Rs. 5,000 (USD 100) to families to help 
alleviate the marriage costs for the parents of a prospective 
bride. 
 
 
 
Changing the Mindset is Key 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U)  To raise public awareness about the issue, the media 
attention has sometimes highlighted the cost of these practices 
on men.  Female feticide and infanticide have dramatically 
reduced the pool of marriageable women, driving families in some 
parts of Western India to buy brides from other parts of India 
for their sons, sometimes being duped by unscrupulous marriage 
brokers in the process, or inducing brothers to share one bride, 
according to media reports.  Sharada told Congenoffs that in 
Gujarat, one sub-caste of the Patel community, so concerned over 
the loss of women to help carry on their bloodline, has made a 
pledge within their community to not abort female fetuses to 
help preserve the blood line. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U)  Population First, however, has taken a completely 
different tact to address the shortage of women:  working 
through media and education programs to emphasize the value of 
women.  The NGO holds annual awards for movies, advertisers and 
television shows depicting women in a positive light.  (The 
movie, Chak De, starring Shah Rukh Kahn as the coach of an 
All-India women's field hockey team, was one of the winners for 
2008.)  Population First also conducts gender sensitivity 
training at universities in Mumbai to reduce the risk of those 
students contributing to the female feticide statistics.  Though 
 
MUMBAI 00000142  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
the incidence of female feticide is highest in western 
Maharashtra, Sharada said that Population First is targeting its 
programs at university students as selective abortion is highest 
among the more affluent and highly educated families that have 
access to medical technology. 
 
 
 
EDUCATIONAL HURDLES FOR YOUNG GIRLS 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U)  The other major hurdle faced by females in India is 
getting an education.  Interlocutors noted that while primary 
education is universally available, many families see no value 
in educating their girl children.  Estimates of school 
attendance for boys and girls vary widely.  According to the 
Mahindra Educational Trust (MET), an NGO working to eliminate 
the educational gap for girls, 10 to 26 million children ages 6 
- 14 years are out of school.   Interlocutors agree the problem 
is most severe for girls.  Although the Government of India 
provides free school lunches for children up to age 13, a 
program initiated in 2001 to encourage parents to send their 
children to school, the school attendance data for girls is 
still disheartening.  According to the 2001 Indian Department of 
Education statistics, the median education level for females is 
two years, in contrast to five years for males, and that almost 
40 percent of girls drop out of school in primary school.  The 
reasons behind the poor statistics for girls, according to the 
data from MET, are primarily family-related:  girls are expected 
to fetch water and firewood and care for smaller children or 
sick relatives, causing them to miss school.  Further, as the 
girls mature and must travel further to get to school, the 
families fear for the safety, according to the MET survey. 
 
 
 
MADHYA PRADESH PAYS FOR GIRLS TO STAY IN SCHOOL 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) State governments and NGOs recognize this disparity for 
girls and are working to eliminate the education gap.  Madhya 
Pradesh has included financial incentives in its "Ladli Laxmi" 
program to stem this precipitous drop out rate for girls:  4,000 
Rs. (80 USD) when the girl passes fifth grade; 7,500 Rs. (150 
USD) when the girl passes seventh grade; 200 Rs. (4 USD) per 
month for attending eleventh and twelfth grades, and 18,000 
Rupees (260 USD) for completing 12th grade.  The program is 
limited to parents who have no more than two children. 
Nonetheless, MP's public relations department claims that over 
6000 girls have benefited from program.  MP Chief Minister 
Pritviraj Chauhan told the press he believes that these programs 
had a major role in the BJP's holding on to power in that 
state's 2008 assembly elections.  On March 16, L.K. Advani, the 
BJP's prime ministerial candidate said he would adopt this 
scheme nationwide. 
 
 
 
NGOs believe female education is key to independence 
 
 
 
¶11.  (U)  MET works in poor urban, remote rural and tribal areas 
in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as well as 
neighboring states helping 49,000 girls go to, and stay in, 
school.  To foster education for girls, MET works with families 
to support the education of the girls and provides funding for 
school uniforms and school supplies.  It works with teachers, 
encouraging them to advocate for the education of girls.  So 
far, the NGO reports only a 10 percent drop out rate among its 
participants, compared to the national average of 40 percent for 
girls in primary school. 
 
 
 
¶12.  (U)  Helping to ensure education for girls, an orphanage 
for Muslim girls located in Mahim, a Muslim slum area in Mumbai, 
insists that its charges complete schooling or have viable 
 
MUMBAI 00000142  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
employment skills before they get married.  Miriam Batliwala, 
director of the program at D.M. Jaliwala Orphanage Trust which 
operates under the name WECAN (Women's Empowerment Center and 
Network) said that she is determined to break the cycle of 
poverty she sees in Mahim and other poor Muslim areas of the 
city.  Batliwala said she sees that often poor Muslim girls are 
married off at age 15 or 16, and are then divorced by their 
husbands at 21, left with no viable job skills and inadequate 
education.  Batliwala said that this insistence on education, 
however, has made fundraising difficult for her organization; 
Muslim businessmen have told her she is making the women less 
desirable as wives by insisting on education. 
 
 
 
¶13. (U)  Education is pivotal for ending the exploitation of 
girls.  Another NGO, St. Catherine's, a shelter for girls 
rescued from prostitution, told Congenoffs that most of the 
rescued girls, minors and adults, are illiterate when they enter 
St. Catherine's.  Without education, these girls often wind up 
as maids or nannies, or, more likely, return to prostitution. 
Focusing on the importance of education, however, St. 
Catherine's aims to break the cycle of poverty.  The NGO reports 
that some women who completed their program have become nurses, 
teachers and computer specialists. 
 
 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  Comment:  Though President Patil, India's first 
female president, claimed in her talk in December 2008, in 
Yavatmal, Maharashtra, "Today, our women are competing on an 
equal footing with men," the reality for many in western India 
belies this claim.   The government programs in Madhya Pradesh, 
at least, accepts the view that girl children are a burden on 
the family, rather than working to change the mindset that 
devalues women.  Ensuring more girls complete their education 
may in the long run, however, be more persuasive and thus more 
effective in breaking the cycle of atrocities that stem from 
devaluing the girl-child.  While government and civil society 
organizations are trying to make inroads, sex-selection 
abortions, female infanticide, and denial of education for girls 
still persist.  The next census, scheduled for 2011, will 
indicate whether these programs have succeeded. 
FOLMSBEE