INTRODUCTION
- Sex Composition of the human population is one of the basic demographic characteristics; as changes in sex composition largely reflect the underlying socio-economic and cultural patterns of society in different ways.
- It is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and females at a given point in time
- It also becomes important for various types of planning and for the analysis of other demographic characteristics such as mortality, migration, marital status, economic characteristics, etc.
- Sex composition is expressed with the help of a ratio known as sex ratio
- SEX RATIO is defined as ”number of females per 1000 males in the population”
- Thus, a sex ratio of 1000 implies complete parity between the two sexes
- Ratios above 1000 indicate excess of females over males; those below 1000 indicate a deficit of females
- There are three reasons why the sex ratio of populations varies and is rarely equal:
- Differences in mortality rates and life expectancy for women and men. Women, on average, live longer than men. This means that all else being equal, we would expect females to account for slightly more than half of the total population.
- Sex ratios at birth are not equal. In all countries, there are more male than female births
- In the absence of selective abortion practices, births in a given population are typically male-biased – the chances of having a boy are very slightly higher than having a girl.
- Migration can also affect the sex ratio of the population. If in some countries there is a significant amount of imported male-dominant labour, all else being equal, we would expect males to account for more than half of the total population
SEX-RATIO IN INDIA
- According to figures of 2011 Census, out of 1210.1 million population, 623.7 million are male and 586.4 million are females
- Thus, the overall sex ratio for Indian Population according to the 2011 Census, is 943
- This suggests that the number of females is quite less as compared to males
- In other words, the sex ratio in the country had always remained unfavorable to females
- The sex-ratio was 933 in the previous census 2001.
- Following are some important factors responsible for low and declining sex ratio:
- More males are born than females
- This is a worldwide phenomenon and India is no exception to this
- According to the findings of the Census of India, the imbalance in the number of males and females starts in the beginning
- It is now a well-established law of nature, that the males exceed females at the time of birth
- Many demographers believe that left to its own, this is an unalterable constant
- Practice of female infanticide in the past, and the cognizant feticide at present have resulted in low sex ratio
- The preference for male child, leads to sex determination tests and the resultant termination of pregnancy in case fetus happens to be a female
- The pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic Technique(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, has failed to yield the desired result, because of its inherent loopholes and faulty implementation
- With small family norms, many young couples do not go for a second child, if the first child happens to be a male
- More males are born than females
State level patterns of Sex Ratio
- During the post-Independence period from 1951 to 2011, sex ratio in rural India has decreased from 965 to 946 and increased from 860 to 929 in urban India
- At all India level, the sex ratio has decreased from 946 in 1951 to 943 in 2011
- During this period 19 States/UTs have recorded significant increase in sex ratio
- Notable increase has been recorded in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, (40.16%), Delhi (13.02%), Assam (10.34%) and West Bengal (9.82%). Contrary to this, 16 States/UTs have recorded significant decrease in Sex ratio.
- Notable decrease in sex ratio have been recorded in Daman & Diu (45.03%), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (18.19%), Goa (13.71%), Lakshadweep (9.25%) and Bihar (8.21%)
- From the above Graph of state wise sex ratio in India, following conclusion can be drawn:
- the lowest sex ratio in India is in Haryana, where sex ratio is only 879 whereas the highest sex ratio is in Kerala (1084)
- If we talk about the sex ratio in the union territories; Puducherry has highest sex ratio of 1037 while Daman and Diu has lowest sex ratio (618) among all the union territories of India
- Position of the bottom five is occupied by the five Union Territories of India i.e. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
- Puducherry and Lakshadweep are the only two union territories which have sex ratio of more than 900 females per thousand males
- In 2011, in age groups 0-6, 0-19, 15-45 and 60+, sex ratio has been observed as 918, 908, 944 and 1033 respectively
Child Sex Ratio
- The Child Sex Ratio is defined as thenumber of females per 1000 males in the age group 0–6 years.
- In the census 2001 the child sex ratio of India was 927 which declined to 918 in the census 2011
- As per the census 2011, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest child sex ratio among the Indian states i.e. 972while Haryana has the lowest child sex ratio i.e.834 per thousand males.
- Among the Union Territories of India; Andaman and Nicobar Islands has the highest child sex ratio i.e.968 per thousand males
- The current child sex ratio is very critical for any demographic set up because, it is this sex ratio that will determine the overall sex ratio in the coming years
- Some of the reasons for neglect of girl child and low child sex ratio are:
- Son preference and the belief that it is only the son who can perform the last rites, that lineage and inheritance runs through the male line, sons will look after parents in old age, men are the bread winners etc.
- Exorbitant dowry demand is another reason for female foeticide/infanticide
- Small family norm coupled with easy availability of sex determination tests may be a catalyst in the declining child sex ratio, further facilitated by easy availability of Pre-conception sex selection facilities.
Consequences of Low Child Sex Ratio
- The shortage of women has led to a sharp rise in violence against them
- This has led to a situation where, apart from the ingrained son preference, people don’t want girls all the more as they feel that it is difficult to keep them safe
- In a study done by the Centre for Social Research in Haryana, fear of violence is a cause for female foeticide
- It will impact marriage patterns in several ways
- Having lesser women of marriageable age will mean that a significant proportion of men will have to delay their marriage
- The reduced demographic share of women, in democratic regimes would translate into a weaker political voice in public decision-making, a trend that could be reinforced by women’s lessened involvement in non-domestic activities, such as outside employment and civil life
The steps taken to improve the sex ratio in India
- Complete ban under law on sex determination during pregnancy under the PCPDNT Act
- Declaring 24th January as the National Girl Child Day in 2012
- Sabla scheme launched on the International Women’s day in 2011, aims at enabling self-development and empowerment of adolescent girls, improving their health and nutrition status; and spreading awareness about health, hygiene, nutrition, reproductive health, family and child care
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme was launched in 2015 in Panipat, Haryana to address the issue of decline in child sex ratio, whose objectives are:
- Prevention of gender biased sex selective elimination
- Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child
- Ensuring education and participation of the girl child
- Other recommendations/suggestions:
- Rolling out campaigns on sensitisation towards women and children
- Effective implementation of the existing women- and children-related policies
- Improving women’s status in the society, could help change the bias for son preference
- Investing on education and economic prosperity could help empower women and reduce gender gap
