| Table of Contents Sex Composition Types Factors Influencing Sex Ratio Sex Ratio in India State Wise Distribution Factors Responsible for Declining Sex Ratio Child Sex Ratio Declining Child Sex Ratio Consequences of Low Sex Ratio Steps Taken For India’s Sex Ratio Decline Significance Way Forward Conclusion |
What exactly is Sex Composition?
- The sex ratio is a ratio that is used to express the sex composition.
- In India, the sex ratio is defined as “the number of females in the population per 1,000 males.”
- The following is how it is expressed
| The sex ratio is calculated as: In India: Sex Ratio = (Number of Females / Number of Males) x 1000 In some countries: Sex Ratio = (Number of Males / Number of Females) x 1000 |
- As a result, a sex ratio of 1,000 denotes complete gender equality. Females outnumber males by a factor of 1,000, while males outnumber females by a factor of 1,000.
- The interplay of sex differentials in mortality, sex-selective migration, the sex ratio at birth, and at times the sex differential in population enumeration results in a country’s sex ratios.
- According to revised census figures from 2001, there are 532 million males and 496 million females out of a total population of 1,028 million.
Types
- The sex ratio of most species varies depending on the population’s age.
- It is divided into four sections:
- Primary sex ratio (ratio at fertilization)
- Secondary sex ratio (ratio at birth)
- Tertiary sex ratio (ratio in sexually mature organisms)
- Quaternary sex ratio (ratio in post-reproductive organisms)
- Due to the lack of clear boundaries, these definitions can be subjective.
Factors Influencing
Factors Influencing Sex Ratio
The general factors that influence the sex ratio of a nation are as follows
- Biological Factors
- Social Taboos
- Women’s Educational Level
- Female Foeticide
- Female Infanticide
- Status of women
- Migration
Sex Ratio
Sex Ratio in India
- According to the 2011 census, India’s sex ratio is 943.
- That is, for every 1000 males, there are 943 females.
- A skewed sex ratio that favors men is a dangerous sign because it indicates a higher rate of female fetal mortality.
- This is a particular issue in states where parents actively select their children’s sex and girls are killed before they are born.
- Haryana has India’s lowest sex ratio, with 879 girls for every 1000 boys.
- Declining sex ratios pose a threat to the country’s future female population.
Decreasing Trend in India’s Sex Ratio
Distribution
State Wise Distribution
- From 1951 to 2011, the sex ratio in rural India fell from 965 to 946, while it rose from 860 to 929 in urban India.
- The sex ratio in India has decreased from 946 in 1951 to 943 in 2011.
- During this time, 19 states/UTs have seen a significant increase in the male-to-female ratio.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands (40.16 %), Delhi (13.02 %), Assam (10.34 %), and West Bengal (10.34 %) have all seen significant increases (9.82 % ). In contrast, 16 states/UTs have seen a significant drop in the gender ratio.
- Daman & Diu (45.03 %), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (18.19 %), Goa (13.71 %), Lakshadweep (9.25 %), and Bihar have all seen a significant drop in the sex ratio (8.21 % )
State Wise Sex Ratio
- The following conclusion can be drawn from the above graph of India’s sex ratio by state:
- The lowest sex ratio in India is in Haryana, where it is only 879, while the highest is in Kerala (1084)
- When it comes to the sex ratio in the union territories, Puducherry has the highest at 1037, while Daman and Diu have the lowest at 618.
- The five Union Territories of India, namely the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Chandigarh, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, are in the bottom five.
- The only two union territories with a sex ratio of more than 900 females per thousand males are Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
- In 2011, the sex ratios for the age groups 0-6, 0-19, 15-45, and 60+ were 918, 908, 944, and 1033, respectively.
Declining Sex Ratio
Factors Responsible for Declining Sex Ratio
- There are numerous factors that have contributed to India’s declining sex ratio. The following are a few of them:
- Sex-Selective Abortion
- Neglect from birth or as a child
- Cultural Favour of a male child
- Law Implementation Failure
- The law in question is the Prenatal Conception and Prenatal Determination Act (PC-PNDT), which prohibits and punishes healthcare providers from informing parents about their child’s gender.
- It is because of this that some people choose to have abortions if the fetus is female.
- This is supported by studies that show that prenatal sex determination is the primary cause of India’s dismal gender ratio.
- The PC-PNDT is a toothless tiger because of poor training and exploiting loopholes.
- Despite the widespread abuse of law and technology, society has its own prejudices when it comes to the female child.
- A segment of the population believes that having a male child will increase wealth, extend the bloodline, and help parents in their old age.
- As a result, the male child has always been preferred. The prevalence of the dowry custom can be attributed to economic reasons.
- Its practice is feared by most parents of female children who, under societal pressure, are financially burdened and, at times, resort to drastic measures, if not outright resentment, toward their daughters.
Image Depicting Imbalance Between Sex Ratio
Child Sex Ratio
Child Sex Ratio
- The Child Sex Ratio is the number of females per 1000 males in the 0–6-year-old age group.
- India’s child sex ratio was 927 in the 2001 census, but it dropped to 918 in 2011.
- According to the 2011 census, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest child sex ratio (972 per thousand males) among Indian states, while Haryana has the lowest child sex ratio (834 per thousand males).
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands have the highest child sex ratio among India’s Union Territories, at 968 per thousand males.
- For any demographic situation, the current child sex ratio is critical because it will determine the overall sex ratio in the coming years.
Indian Child Sex Ratio
Overall Sex Ratio vs Child Sex Ratio
Declining Child Sex Ratio
Factors Responsible for Declining Child Sex Ratio
- The following are some of the reasons for girl child neglect and a low child sex ratio:
- The belief that only the son can perform the last rites, that lineage and inheritance run through the male line, that sons will look after their parents in old age, that men are the breadwinners, and so on.
- Another reason for female foeticide/infanticide is the excessive dowry demand.
- Small family norms, combined with easy access to sex determination tests, may be a catalyst for the declining child sex ratio, which is aided by the widespread availability of pre-conception sex selection services.
Low Sex Ratio
Consequences of Low Sex Ratio
- Due to a scarcity of women, violence against them has increased dramatically.
- This has resulted in a situation where, aside from the ingrained son preference, people are less interested in girls because they believe it is more difficult to keep them safe.
- Fear of violence, according to a study conducted by Haryana’s Centre for Social Research, is a factor in female foeticide.
- It will have a variety of effects on marriage patterns.
- Since there are fewer women of marriageable age, a significant number of men will have to postpone their marriage.
- In democratic regimes, women’s lower demographic share would imply a weaker political voice in public decision-making, a trend that could be exacerbated by women’s lower participation in non-domestic activities such as outside employment and civil life.
Steps
Steps Taken For India’s Sex Ratio Decline
- The government launched initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme to address the declining sex ratio in some Indian states.
- The initiative raised awareness about the value of the girl child and the importance of empowering her through education.
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development, as well as the Ministry of Education, made the following recommendations.
- Making education more affordable and accessible while also improving economic conditions is a win-win situation.
- Women’s safety cells, gender sensitization campaigns, and other initiatives to ensure women’s safety on public transportation.
- Reaching out to young people could help to mitigate the effects of population momentum and speed up progress toward a more balanced gender ratio at birth.
Significance
Significance
- The analysis of other population attributes is dependent on the sex composition of the population.
- Sex Composition is a crucial component in the development of economic policies.
- It’s critical for social service provision planning.
- It enables researchers and planners to examine socio-economic phenomena in their various forms.
- Health administrators and demographers can use sex composition to help plan and implement various developmental and health programs.
- They aid in the analysis of various goods and service production and consumption patterns.
- Fertility, Mortality, and Migration determine the population’s age and gender structure.
- The sex ratio is heavily influenced by the status of women in society.
Way Forward
Way Forward
Behavioural Change
- Improving the ratio requires more female education and economic prosperity.
- The government’s Beti-Bachao Beti Padhao campaign has been a huge success in bringing about behavioral change in society.
Sensitising Youth
- Reaching out to young people for reproductive health education and services, as well as cultivating gender equity norms, is critical.
- Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) services can be used for this, especially in rural areas.
Stringent Enforcement of Law
- India needs to strengthen the Preconception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act of 1994 and devote more resources to combating the preference for boys.
- The decision of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board to include ultrasound machines in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 is significant in this regard.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Despite the policies and initiatives aimed at improving the girl child’s situation, the underlying issues persist. Discrimination based on socioeconomic status, as well as the evil, practices of female infanticide and foeticide, continue to exist. It is therefore critical to focus on improving existing policies, laws, and programs in order to ensure the survival of girl children and to close the gender gap in healthcare access.
