India 'lost 10 million girls'

A study published by the Lancet medical journal said India lost about 10 million female fetuses due to abortion for sex selection in the past 20 years.

Sex imbalance makes Indian youth in many places difficult to find wives

Researchers say their pre-natal selection with abortion and other methods has cost about 500,000 female fetuses each year.

This study is based on a survey of nearly 1.1 million households across India, whereby abortion with the choice to leave girls is more common in high-school women. As a result, the current serious sex imbalance in India.

According to 2001 statistics, in India, there are 933 girls born for every 1000 boys. In the case of a family with a first child as a girl, the risk of fetal girls being left out is higher. In this group, there are only 759 girls born for every 1,000 boys. In houses with two daughters, this rate is 1000/719.

In Indian tradition, women are often considered to be inferior to men. With a largely agricultural-based economy, men are often thought to be better workers. Last year, social activist and prominent religious leader Swami Agnivesh launched a campaign in the northern and western Indian states to propagate against female abortion.

"No crime is more painful, more brutal and more shameful than that crime," he said.

T. Huyen (according to BBC)