Female infanticide in Pakistan

Female infanticide in Pakistan is on rise. Aid groups have reported that hardly any steps have been taken in the country for preventing infanticide, especially among poor people.[1]

History

During 19th century, the Northwest British India one-fourth of the population preserved only half the daughters, while other 3/4th of the population had balanced sex ratio. There were 118 males per 100 females. This is comparable to the late C20th sex ratio in the area, now divided between India and Pakistan.[2]

Among Kharal people, female infanticide was common. A report from 1884 states:

The Kharrals are the most northerly of the great Ravi tribes, occupying a great portion of the land between Gugera and the Lahore district on both sides of the river, and extending some distance into the Gujranwala district. The Kharrals were Rajputs... and never got on with each other. The feuds of the Lakheras and upper Ravi Kharrals have been noticed. The tragic adventure of Mirza and Sahiban is said to have been the cause of desperate quarrels. Mirza was a Kharral of the Sahi muhin... went as a boy to Khewa in Jhang, where he fell in love with his cousin Sahiban, the daughter of the chief man of the place. Her parents betrothed her to a youth of the Chadar tribe, but before the marriage could place, Mirza ran away with her. He was pursued and slain. Her relations strangled Sahiban... These murders were cause of such bloody feuds between the clans that it at the length was thought inauspicious to have daughters, and as soon as they were born, they were strangled as Sahiban had been. This custom of female infanticide was common among the Kharrals till Colonel Hamilton, Commissioner of Multan, persuaded them to discontinue it.

[3]

This report is cited in a 2010 book on son preference, giving the context of the Mirza Sahiban tragic romance, and putting the practice in a wider socio-economic analysis.[4]

By law

Abortion is illegal in Pakistan. Section 338 of the Pakistan Penal code provides that:

"Whoever causes a woman with child whose organs have not been formed, to miscarry, if such miscarriage is not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the woman or providing necessary treatment to her, is said to cause ‘Isqat-i-Haml’ is liable to a punishment of three years imprisonment if the abortion is performed by the woman’s consent otherwise a maximum of ten years."[5]

Prevalence

According to one estimate from the end of 20th century, about 3.1 million girls are missing in Pakistan.[6][7] The extent to which this is attributable to infanticide is contested; see Missing women of Asia.

In 1998, 391 infant girls were found dead, about 68 in 1999, 59 in 2000, 51 in 2001, and 39 in 2002.[8] The number of infanticides, particularly of girls, is on the increase, according to the Edhi Foundation. They know of 890 newborns killed in 2008, 999 in 2009 and about 1,210 in 2010, and this counts only the large cities.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mariya Karimjee (2014-01-14). "Infanticide is on the rise in Pakistan | Al Jazeera America". America.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  2. ↑ Hughes, Nancy Scheper (1987). Child Survival: Anthropological Perspectives on the Treatment and Maltreatment of Children. Springer. p. 99. ISBN 9781556080289.
  3. ↑ Gazetteer of the Montgomery District. 1884. pp 62-63
  4. ↑ Purewal, Navtej K. Son Preference: Sex Selection, Gender and Culture in South Asia. Berg. p. 33. ISBN 9781845204686.
  5. ↑ "Meera denies abortion". Thenews.com.pk. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  6. ↑ Milner, Larry Stephen. Hardness of Heart/hardness of Life: The Stain of Human Infanticide. University Press of America. p. 223.
  7. ↑ Magma, Ann (2012). Female Terror. Random House. p. 103. ISBN 9781448132362.
  8. ↑ Andrea Parrot, Nina Cummings (2006). Forsaken Females: The Global Brutalization of Women. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 9780742580428.
  9. ↑ AFP. "Infanticide on the rise: 1,210 babies found dead in 2010, says Edhi – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
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