India: government incentives for having female babies.

(March 11, 2006) : In a new effort to combat the widespread practice of sex-selection abortion, India's capital city of New Delhi has announced financial incentives for couples that have female children. Sex-selection abortion has caused a sharp decline in the number of girls born in India, so that in some regions there are less than 800 girl babies born for every 1,000 boys. Although abortion is legal, the government has outlawed abortions undertaken for the reason of sex-selection, and even banned sex-determination tests during pregnancy, in efforts to stop the practice. But parents continue to persuade doctors to reveal the gender of their unborn children. A strong prejudice in favour of male babies endures in India, where Hindu tradition teaches that a man cannot attain moksha –salvation - unless he has a son to perform his last rites. That belief, combined with a tradition of heavy dowries for brides, has made couples fearful of having female children. In its annual budget, unveiled this week, the Delhi government said that it will set up accounts of 5,000 rupees (about $110) in the name of every baby girl. The parents will be able to collect the funds when the girl reaches the age of 18 and completes her elementary schooling.