Srinagar, Jul 13: A persistently low sex ratio that signals a chronic gender imbalance tarnishes the achievements of J&K’s healthcare system.
Despite reducing the Infant Mortality to an enviable low, girls in J&K are dying, even before they are born.
The sex ratio here remains below 945, the target that could give girls a chance to have a life, nearly similar to that of boys.
According to the ‘Vital Statistics of India Based on Civil Registration System 2021’ from the Office of the Registrar General of India, J&K’s sex ratio at birth has fluctuated unevenly over recent years.
It was 957 in 2017, 953 in 2018, 965 in 2019, and 984 in 2020. Sadly, and concerningly, it fell back to 957 in 2021.
These figures show some improvement.
However, the Sample Registration System (SRS) data for 2018-2020 states that the sex ratio at birth for J&K is 921 females per 1000 males, a minuscule improvement from 918 in 2017-2019, but grossly far behind the natural benchmark of 952.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 target a sex ratio of 945. J&K is among the 17 states and union territories of India with a sex ratio below this benchmark. This sordid tale is a grim indicator of systemic failures.
J&K’s celebrated drop in Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) poses a pressing question: where are all these missing girls, and how many are lost each year, even before birth?
There are no straight answers to this question, but rather a mystery that could only be answered by a thorough probe by the health department of J&K.
Is it the lax enforcement of laws, inadequate public awareness, and failure to address cultural biases that are responsible for the missing girls?
Nevertheless, the lopsided sex ratio casts a long shadow over the glam and glitter of healthcare development, when females are robbed of their chance to live.
For every 1000 male births, as per the natural ratios, there should be 952 girls born.
However, with just 921 females being delivered, approximately 31 fewer females are born per 1000 male births.
The Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States, 2011-2036, estimates that there are approximately 2 lakh births in J&K annually.
Assuming nearly half are male (1 lakh male births), there is a shortfall of 3100 female births annually: female foetuses that J&K may be losing due to sex-selective practices. Were these sex-selection procedures missed or ignored by the healthcare system?
We don’t know the answers.
The healthcare system has commendable achievements like a 13.3-point drop in IMR, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Annual Report, 2024-25, J&K has not progressed at the same pace to address the gender crisis.
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act bans sex determination and selective abortions. A 2023 directive from the Secretary of Health and Medical Education, Bhupinder Kumar, instructed the Directorates of Health Services to assess all registered ultrasound clinics for compliance, suggesting that monitoring may be inadequate.
The crisis is not limited to the prenatal phase only.
Inequitable care results in higher mortality rates for girls in the initial years of birth.
The NFHS-5 data shows under-five mortality at 54 per 1000 live births for girls compared to 46 for boys.
