SOCIETY
Punjab and Haryana, the richest States in terms of per capita income, seem to have the strongest bias against girls and women.
Official figures show the two States have the lowest female-to-male ratio with 87.4 women to 100 men in Haryana and 88 women for every 100 men in Punjab. The example of Punjab and Haryana show that the prejudice against girls is not always confined to the poor who consider a girl child a burden. For India as a whole, according to a UNICEF report quoting data available from the sample registration system for 1992, in eight out of 17 States infant mortality rates among girls were higher compared to boys. A significant number of girls are not alive often because they have not been allowed to live. This is done either through selective abortion after prenatal sex determination or inadequate attention to the girl child after the delivery.
Among various districts in the country having lowest child sex ratio between zero to six age group. Salem district in Tamil Nadu tops with 849 girls to 1,000 boys.
Bhind district in M.P. comes next with 850 girls with 1,000 boys. According to census figures, Kaithal and Jind districts of Haryana have a child sex ratio of 854 and 858 girls respectively to every 1,000 boys. The State's Kurukshetra and Hisar have a slightly better ratio of 867 girls to every 1,000 boys.
In Punjab the figures are: Amritsar 861. Faridkot 863 and Bhatinda 865 girls to every 1,000 boys.
(Source: The Patriot, 25 November, 1995)
Man Slits Throat to Please Goddess
A 25-year-old unemployed man slit his throat amid the throng of devotees at the Kalkaji temple in south Delhi (on 2 December, 1995).
Nearly 200 people watched in horror as Shanker Sahni fell bleeding profusely, near the door leading to the temple's sanctum sanctorum, at about noon.
The police found a suicide note in Hindi in Sahni's trouser pocket.
The note said:
"Things go wrong wherever I put my hand. I cannot find fruitful work. I am an ardent devotee of Kali maa she wants to test me. I am sacrificing myself to please her".
Human Sacrifice in M.P.
Four people have been arrested in connection with a human sacrifice on Diwali night in Chikhali village under Amabedkha Police Station in Tagdalpur district. According to Police the village patel, Chamra Ram, invited one Guharam to his house and killed him with the help of his family members. After performing a pooja, they buried the body.
Government Statement on Prostitution
As per the UNICEF Report 'Progress of Nations- 1995' the estimate of the number of Children under 18 years involved in prostitution in India is 3 to 4 lakhs. However, this is only an estimation and there are no reliable statistics available about the number of child prostitutes in India or in different States.
The Government of India had set up a Central Advisory Committee to frame recommendation/plan of action for both legal and non-legal approaches for the rescue and rehabilitation of child prostitutes. The recommendation of the Committee have been sent to the concerned Central Ministries/Departments and to the State Governments for taking appropriate action.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 supplemented by the Indian Penal Code prohibits trafficking in human beings including children. The Act prescribe higher penalties and punishments in cases relating to the prostitution of a child or a minor.
The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 provides for the care and protection, treatment and rehabilitation of neglected. and delinquent juveniles including girls.
The enforcement of the Acts is the responsibility of the State Governments.
The Central Government have issued instructions from time to time to all States/Union Territories for strict implementation of the Act.
(Source: LSUQ No. 171 dated 1 August, 1995 by R. Kumar)
Al-Azhar Okays Sex-change Operation
Seven years after throwing out a medical student who changed from a man to a woman, Al-Azhar, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, has permitted transsexuality under some conditions.
"A man can undergo an operation to become a woman and a woman can do the reverse if a doctor deems intervention necessary to bring out signs of feminity or masculinity which are present but hidden", says fatwa, or religious edict of Al-Azhar on November 12, 1995.
"Since 1988, around 20 sex-change cases have been registered in Egypt. Most of them involve men who become women", the head of the civil status bureau Ibrahim Beseilla, told AFP.
Sex-change operations are authorized by Egypt's Doctors' Union.
(Source: AFP)
