Khap Panchayat wakes up to save girls

A meeting of the khap panchayats in western Utter Pradesh have come up with the most unlikely resolution, demanding strict laws to check female foeticide. The khaps, or clusters of villages bonded on caste basis, have so far been known for suppression of women’s rights. The Sarvajatiya and Sarv khap panchayat in Muzaffarnagar district on November 14 blasted the state for not implementing the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act that prohibits sex selection.
Dr Neelam Singh, founder of Vatsalya, a non-government organisation working for checking female foeticide, said foeticide was rampant in the affluent districts of western UP. Dr SP Ram, director general of the health and family welfare department said several measures had been taken to implement the Act. “Surprise checks are being conducted at the ultra-sound test centres.” While the sex ratio (number of females per 1,000 males) in the state is 898, in western UP districts, the ratio is much lower — Saharanpur (865), Muzaffarnagar (871), Meerut (872), Ghaziabad (860) and Gautam Buddha Nagar (841).
News source: Hindustan times