We are seeking to bring an end to one of the greatest injustices in India today – female foeticide.
Every year in India, baby girls are killed simply for being girls. In recent years, 19 million have died through abortion or by being killed just after birth.
The problem stems from a perception that females are a burden on families and have little or no value. The practice of killing baby girls is now routine, to the extent that for every 1,000 male births there are only 918 female births—82 of every 1,000 girls are killed.
Existing laws were enacted to stop female foeticide, but enforcement of these laws has been feeble. (Between 2009 and 2014, there were only 206 convictions in a nation of 1.2 billion people.)
To make matters worse, some medical professionals and others are making money from exploiting the traditional preference for boys.
One way #VanishingGirls is making a difference
The Vanishing Girls campaign has successfully organized events, trainings, and workshops in Delhi that have impacted nearly 2,000 people, including:
- Two one-day legal workshops on the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act for law students
- The Won by Two Conference focusing on gender equality and addressing female foeticide
- A concert with Singer Anil Kant to celebrate girls
- Outreach programmes on National Girl Child Day and International Day of the Girl Child in 2017 calling for an end to sex selective abortions
- Healthy baby girl contest workshops promoting good nutrition and safety of baby girls
- A school awareness programme at a school that was attended by nearly 1000 students from class 6-12