“When news is brought to one of them (the birth of) of a female (child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief”! (16:58)
In pre-Islamic period when the father got the news of birth of a female child, he felt shame. The Qur’ān states: “With shame does he hide himself from his people, because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain it on (sufferance and) contempt, or bury it in the dust? Ah! What an evil (choice) they decide on!” (16:59)
Islam prohibits infanticide or killing of female infants; this is considered a serious crime of murder. “When a female (infant), buried alive is questioned, for what crime she was killed.” (81:8-9)
This verse brings into light the treatment the Lord of the universe would adopt in the Day of Judgement while dealing with those who love to kill their female children. It shows that the persons who buried alive girls will be hated by Allah so much that Allah will neither look at them nor talk to them instead He will ask the infants why they were killed.
The female infanticide of the past has turned into female foeticide of present. The advancement of science and medicine has increased the crime of aborting female foetuses.
The birth of a girl child is not welcomed by the family since time immemorial; the reasons behind it are many. Women are treated as inferior beings and items of shame. According to the Bible, “Women are the instrument of the devil.” Daughters are regarded as liabilities because they will eventually be the family of their future husbands. Hence their parents’ expenditure on them will be of no use. In the Indian tradition a girl is nicknamed as parayadhan which means ‘somebody else’s property’. In some communities where the custom of dowry prevails, the cost of her dowry could be phenomenal.
In Hindu families sons perform the rituals on the death of their fathers (such as lighting the funeral fire), a funeral process from which women are customarily excluded. Sons are expected to help and support parents in their old age. In patrilineal society, sons are vital to continue the family lineage. An investment upon the sons generally appears to offer more return to families within a kinship system. Daughters are usually excluded from an equal share of the inheritance while boys are assured to inherit their parents’ property and carry the family name. So girls are considered burden in society. The evil practice of female infanticide was widely spread in East Asian countries especially in Arabia in the 6th and 7th centuries. No religion other than Islam came forward to honour women. Islam came as a blessing for girls. The Holy Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) eradicated this heinous crime. He not only gave girls the right to life but also welcomed the birth of a girl in the same manner as that of a boy. The Qur’ān states that boys and girls both have equal blessings from Allah: “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows (children) male or female according to His will.” (42:49)
Female foeticide was rare before the late 20th century, because of the difficulty of determining the sex of the foetus before birth, but ultrasound has made such determination easier. Sex selective abortion is the practice in areas where cultural norms value male children in total disrespect of female children. Sex selective abortion refers to the targeted abortion of the female foetuses. Female foeticide has become an issue in Southern and Eastern Asian countries where it has caused an increase in the imbalance between the sex ratio of various Asian countries.
Studies have estimated that female foeticide has increased the ratio of males to females from the natural average of 105-06 males per 100 females to 113 males per 100 females in South Korea and China, 110 males per 100 females in Taiwan and 107 males per 100 females among Chinese populations living in Singapore and Malaysia. The existence of the practice appears to be determined by culture rather than economical condition because such deviation in the sex ratio does not exist in Africa, Latin America and Caribbean.
Female foeticide has been seen as worsening the sex ratio in India, and thus affecting gender issue related to sex composition of Indian household. According to the census 2001 the sex ratio in India is 107.8 males per 100 females up from 105.8 males per 100 females in 1991. The ratio is significantly higher in certain states such as Punjab (126.1) and Haryana (122.0).
It is prevalent among educated and affluent families because women are often practically unable to inherit real estate, so a mother/widow loses her family’s (her late husband’s) plot of land and becomes indigent if she has only daughters. Poor rural families have meagre resources to distribute among their children, which reduce the opportunity to discriminate against girls. The affluent and educated women would have fewer offspring and therefore were under more acute pressure to produce a son as early as possible. As ultrasound imaging and other techniques increasingly allow early precision of the child’s sex, the more affluent families opt for an abortion.
According to the statistics compiled by BBC, everyday more than 3,000 foetuses are being aborted in India on being identified that they are female. The research estimated that 13.6 to 13.8 million girls should have been born in India in 1997 but the actual number was 13.1 million. The deficit runs between 590,000 and 740,000 female births. The situation is so crucial in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan that there are big bill boards and advertisements saying that ‘invest 500/- and save 500,000 signifying that you do undergo test like amino synthesis or ultrasound which cost Rs 500/- and identifying the gender of foetus if it is a girl you can always abort her and thus save Rs 500,000/- which is usually spent on the upbringing of a girl and giving dowry in her marriage.
Thus female foeticide is increasing day by day. Although many voices are raised to stop this heinous crime but no political party, no social activist or no religion other than Islam puts a total ban on it. Islam came as a blessing for all mankind and the Prophet’s teachings transcend beyond time and space. Islam regards foeticide as shirk. If people firmly hold the Qur’ān and Hadith, the problems of dowry, inheritance and sharing would solve, hence atrocities of female foeticide would come to an end.
The Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) said that one who has a problem due to a girl child and bears it patiently, he will be safe from the hell. He was so particular about treating children equally that once he reprimanded a man who kissed his son but not the daughter, both of whom were sitting with him. He was himself such a model of perfect love and affection that the pages from his life history have the power to overwhelm you. His daughter Fatimah was so dear to him that whenever she visited him, he, the leader of an empire, would get up with a smile to receive her, kiss her forehead and seat her in his place.
Foeticide is so heinous a crime that the Qur’ān says: “Indeed, lost are those who slay their children from folly, without knowledge, and forbid food which Allah hath provided for them, inventing (lies) against Allah. They have indeed gone astray and heeded no guidance”. (6:140)
Thus we see that killing of a girl (foeticide or infanticide) is condemned in Islam through the Qur’ān and Hadith again and again. When women came for having bait the Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) used to tell them not to kill their babies. Once a companion asked the Prophet what a great crime is. The Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him) replied: to kill your offspring being afraid of sharing your food. The Prophet said that a child is born with her/his well-decided quota of food and luck. Allah is only one who feeds everyone.
And the Qur’ān says: “There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance dependeth on Allah: He knoweth the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: all is in a clear record.” (11:6)