Female infanticide and foeticide in south India: an analysis of the civil society approach vs. state failure

Shahid M. Perwez, University of Edinburgh
Raju Sampath, Welfare Centre for Women and Children, Salem, India

Limiting family size in the context of strong son preference, patriarchy, and the availability of sex determination technologies have led to the spread of female infanticide and foeticide in areas and communities, hitherto unknown for such practices. The disastrous impact of the modern consumerist culture spawned by globalization has been a driving force in pushing up dowry practices and consequently female infanticide and foeticide in the state of Tamil Nadu. In this context, Tamil Nadu government’s intervention, and its consequent failure in curbing the practice, has been met with skepticism. On the other hand, Civil Society's intervention has been quite applauded. We present here the findings and analysis of one such intervention by Welfare Centre for Women and Children (WCWC), an NGO working in western areas of Salem district of Tamil Nadu, in curbing female infanticide by awakening civil society through its unique method of people’s participation.