Haryana, 11 January 2025- The sex ratio Haryana (at birth) fell to 910 in 2024, an eight-year low, after reaching a peak of 923 in 2019. Although officials have described the most recent figures as a “slight fluctuation,” the numbers have alarmed activists and members of Haryana’s civil society.
The sex ratio is the measure of the number of females per 1,000 males in a given population. It directly reflects the status and well-being of women in a society and is an essential metric for assessing gender equality. The National Health and Family Survey-5 (NFHS-5), released in 2021, found that India’s overall sex ratio at birth was 929.
According to the Indian Express, of the 516,402 children born in Haryana in 2024, 270,354 (52.35%) were boys, while 246,048 (47.64%) were girls, giving a sex ratio of 910 girls per 1,000 boys born. For a state which over the past decade has made significant improvements in this metric, this is a setback.
The sex ratio Haryana (at birth) fell to 910 in 2024, an eight-year low
In 2014, the sex ratio in Haryana was just 871. This triggered a massive nationwide outcry, and set off a concerted effort by civil society organizations, the state government, and the Centre to improve the situation. In January 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his signature ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign at Panipat.
After 2014, Haryana’s sex ratio at birth increased steadily as a result of the government’s and civil society’s efforts. It peaked at 923 in 2019 after reaching 900 in 2016. But since then, the sex ratio has generally been declining once more, with the largest decline occurring in 2024 when it dropped from 916 (in 2023) to 910.
The setback occurs at a time when state-sponsored women are achieving academic and athletic success, including on international stages.
Strict enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (PNDT Act) and a vigorous awareness campaign were responsible for the improvements made between 2014 and 2019.
Laws intended to prevent female foeticide have been less strictly enforced in recent years, but activists say more has to be done to alter attitudes.
The founder of the “Selfie With Daughter” campaign and social activist Sunil Jaglan claims that the wealthy and powerful still use sex determination services and more expensive sex selective abortions. This is particularly true in regions that border the neighboring states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. Nearly one-third of the more than 1,200 FIRs filed under the PNDT Act’s provisions in the past ten years were filed following the interstate raids, according to data from the Haryana government.
Jaglan also mentioned the state’s recent trend of having “only [one] boy.” According to Jaglan, “the idea of a ‘only boy’ was not common until recently, but some families have begun choosing it because of the declining land holdings.”
Many families are opting to have just one boy because of rising inflation, which makes raising several children costly, according to Shakuntala Jakhar, the Haryana state president of the All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA). According to her, the goal must be to change people’s attitudes. She stated that in order to stop the dowry system, which causes families to view girls as a burden, the government and society at large must discourage costly marriages.
State authorities, however, term the latest dip as a “slight fluctuation”, and point to the fact that the state’s sex ratio has improved significantly over the last 10 years.
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