The status of the girl child in Gujarat was better in 1961; one year after the state was created, than it is today, 50 years later. Census figures show that in 1961, there were 956 girls in Gujarat for every 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group. Today, the scenario has changed – the 2011 census put the ratio at 886 per 1,000 boys.
The antipathy towards girl child is amply reflected in the overall sex ratio too, where the number of women in Gujarat is less by 25 lakh when compared to their male counterparts. This steady drop in the number of females in Gujarati society has today put the state at the 24th spot among the 35 states of the country. In the 0-6 age group Gujarat’s position is worse, 27th.
Leela Visaria, a demographer at Gujarat Institute of Development Research says, “In 1960, abortion and sonography machines did not exist. Even then, the society’s attitude was very much the same which resulted in infanticide. Today, most couples do not wish to have more than two children, and often stop after having a son. This disparity in sex ratio created by people’s selective behaviour is compounded by high mortality rate of the girl child. In the age group of one to four, the fatality rate among girl child is much higher than boys.”