BATMAN
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Female foeticide shameful for India
Manmohan Singh is not a Hindu so why should hindus follow his belief?
NEW DELHI: Indias widespread practice of aborting female foetuses is a national shame, the prime minister said Monday, insisting the country can no longer ignore the problem if it wants to be a modern nation.
Experts say up to 500,000 female foetuses are aborted in India every year because of discrimination against women and a deep-rooted cultural preference for male children, who will help support their parents in old age and attract wives who come with substantial dowries.
This is a national shame and we must face this challenge squarely here and now, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference on ways to Save the girl child. No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women, Singh said.
The British medical journal The Lancet recently reported that up to 500,000 female foetuses are aborted every year. Singh said the number of girls per 1,000 boys declined nationally from 962 in 1981 to just 927 in the last census in 2001. Activists believe the problem has become even worse since the census. Singh said to achieve equality for women the country has to address many issues, including child marriage, female illiteracy, malnutrition and taboos on women in public places.
I do not say this as the prime minister of India. I say this as the proud father of three daughters. I wish for every girl in our country what I wish for my own daughters, he said. ap
Manmohan Singh is not a Hindu so why should hindus follow his belief?