Government action

1. Punjab, Haryana step up to end female foeticide

A novel scheme to end female foeticide in Punjab and Haryana and to improve female literacy is on the cards, for which funding would come from the Centre. Punjab has male-female ratio of 1000:798, while Haryana has the male-female population ratio of 1000:819 according to the Census department. Alarmed at the disparity, the two states have asked the Centre to fund a scheme, which would give a boost to education of girls in these two states.

2. Women empowerment a priority for the Himachal government

To improve female sex ratio, the government has decided to act tough on sex determination cases and check female foeticide. Regular checks at various clinics have resulted in affirmative action and many ultrasound machines have been sealed for want of proper staff and violations of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act laws. Awareness campaigns to change the psyche of the people and incentives to rear the girl child are being offered for poor and below poverty line (BPL) families.

3. Karnataka State Human Rights Commission Chairman S R Nayak for stringent law on female foeticide

Expressing concern over the rise in female foeticide, Karnataka State Human Rights Commission Chairman S R Nayak called for making the existing law more stringent.

"It is disappointing and disgusting to know that discrimination against women starts from the womb itself. The advances in medical sciences are now used to know the sex of the foetus, which is inhuman", he said.