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6 Nov, 2013

Heart of India? MP district is finishing off the girl child – Hindustan Times

Kharauwa, a tiny hamlet 35 km northwest of Bhind district headquarters, looks like any other village in the country from the outside. But look deeper and the difference is apparent: very few female kids play in its lanes and bylanes.

Dig deeper and the reason is not very difficult to fathom: Female infanticide and foeticide is rampant in this part of Madhya Pradesh and Bhind is notorious for its skewed sex ratio: 837 girls to 1,000 boys.

And in Kharauwa and its adjacent villages, this figure is even more shocking: 595 girls to 1,000 boys.

“Despite efforts of the government, female infanticide is going on in Kharauwa and other neighbouring villages unabated. Since the family of a pregnant woman is never reported to the rural health workers, there is no way the government will get the correct picture,” said a villager who did not wish to be named.

Read the rest: Heart of India? MP district is finishing off the girl child – Hindustan Times.