Patiala, August 12
Upset over the rampant occurrence of female foeticide in the country, the National Commission for Women has recommended to the Central Government to bring amendments to the PNDT Act and the MTP Act incorporating provisions for punishment to those indulging in and facilitating female foeticide.
The commission has also recommended that fast-track courts should be set up to ensure conviction of those committing the sin of killing unborn daughters. It has also recommended that monitoring committees should be set up at district level to ensure the implementation of the PNDT Act in the letter and spirit.
Making these disclosures, Ms Girija Vyas, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, said at a press conference here today that the commission had also been pressing the Centre Government to earmark 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the total general Budget as “gender budget” and the same should be used to curb the menace of female foeticide, crime against women, uplift of women, promoting their education and creation of job opportunities for them.
She said the commission had also recommended that gender study should be introduced at the primary level of education so that a proper mindset for the protection of girl child could be developed in the coming generations. For this task, the commission had written to authorities concerned to make it a part of their academic curriculum. It should be also made a part of training of bureaucrats and police officials in their respective academies and centres.
Ms Vyas while expressing her concern over the detection of suspected graveyards of unborn daughters in Patran town of this district in the past few days, said she was surprised as to how the district administration and district health authorities could say that they did not know about that malpractices, which had been going over there for the past four
years or so.
She said that what had happened in Patran town was a slap on the face of civilised society and it also reflected the mindset of the people.
She said she had asked the authorities concerned that an action should be taken against those officials, who were aware of the fact that unborn daughters were being killed in the unauthorised hospital at Patran being run by a quack couple by conducting an inquiry into the whole matter.
Ms Vyas pointed out that a need was felt to carry out amendments in the PNDT Act. She pointed out that during the review of female foeticide cases, it had come to light that in most of the cases, the female foeticide was being done under the garb of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
Ms Preneet Kaur, MP, Patiala, said she was confident that the state government would leave no stone unturned to uproot the menace of female foeticide.
