India and The Plague of Female Feticide

4. Within ten days after a diagnostic sonography is conducted, medical practitioners must fill prescribed forms with detailed information on diagnostic sonography and any treatment/operations without disclosing details protected by patient privacy; and

5. The necessary paperwork as prescribed under the PNDT Rules must be submitted by medical practitioners online, in addition to paper filing.

Gujarat health department took good efforts to make these directions reach people. Even this couldn’t stop the female feticide. Some sinful medical practitioners were still ready to break the laws by erasing data from the computer. These counter practices led the government counsel to add Rule 3A in the PNDT. Now government makes sure that any sonography machine has got the non erasable data hard drive. Gujarat also takes further steps by using ‘Silent Observer Tool’ developed by IIT graduates for the existing machines.

All these measures by Gujarat government by using both the laws and awareness have shown a remarkable decrease in the female feticides in Gujarat.  There must be a collaborated effort from all the communities and people to bring a radical change in the attitudes of the people. Decreasing number of female feticide is a positive sign but our efforts must be consistent to bring a result that we hope for. This is not an issue that affects Gujarat alone instead all states of India have to put strong effort together against this menace.