Kottayam: Kerala, the only state where women outnumber men, is seeing the trend reversed when it comes to girls below 19 years. Health authorities are struggling to explain the reversal of sex ratio among children, particularly below six years.
There are 1,084 women per 1,000 men in Kerala, according to the 2011 census. However, there are only 959 girls for every 1,000 boys in the age group of up to six years. There are only 964 girls for every 1,000 boys in the age group of up to 19 years.
Kerala has 33,22,247 children below six years. Of these, 16.95 lakh are boys and 16.26 lakh girls. The number of girls against boys in five districts is lower than the state-wide average. Alappuzha has only 947 girls for every 1,000 boys and Thrissur has only 948. Ernakulam with 954, Kottayam with 957 and Idukki with 958 are the other districts that stand below the state-wide average ratio.
The Unicef had called for an examination into the worrying trend after the census figures were published but the health authorities are at a loss explaining it. Officials point to a variety of reasons including female foeticide.
“There is an increase in the number of women. But we are yet to study the decrease in the number of girls below 19 years,” an official with the statistics section of the Health Department told Onmanorama.
A group of 30 officers from the Health, Education and Family Welfare departments was formed to collect the data again to confirm the drop in the number of girls. They were given training to ensure accuracy in data collection. The report, however, is yet to come out.
Social Welfare Assistant Director Dr P. Prathapan said there was no study conducted into the phenomenon. He said he was not aware of the Unicef direction.
The Population Research Centre under the University of Kerala too gave a similar reply. “The number of girls in this age group is seen decreasing for several years. It could be due to medical reasons or a result of faulty data supplied by hospitals,” researcher Sajini P. Nair said. Experts in healthcare may be able to give a more accurate reply, she added.
Doctors at the SAT in Thiruvananthapuram expressed fears of foeticide. “The government has taken stern actions against foeticide. But things may not be totally under control even in a state that excels in literacy,” they said.
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