Moms having baby-boys, beware! Finding a ‘dulhan' (or bride) for the apple of your eye when he grows up could prove to be an uphill task as the child sex ratio in many parts of country has deteriorated drastically.

Ms Radha Sankaranarayanan, wife of the Maharashtra Governor, Mr K. Sankaranarayanan, gave a warning to this effect on Thursday at a function to release India Post's special cover on 'Save the girl child'.

“Women should be socially, economically and politically empowered. Female foeticide should stop forthwith,” she said.

One clear repercussion of the declining child sex ratio would be that finding brides for eligible boys would get tough, she added.

The concern about the girl-child stems from the fact that the child sex ratio (0-6 years), as per the 2011 census, in country has declined to 914 girls for every 1,000 boys. This ratio was at 927 girls for every 1,000 boys in the 2001 census.

This fall in the child sex ratio has happened despite a stringent law banning pre-natal sex determination being in place. Societal preference for boys is the main reason for this skewed ratio as female foeticide is rampant in many parts of the country.

In Maharashtra, the child sex ratio scenario at 883 girls per 1,000 boys is dismal, as per the latest census. This ratio was at 913 in the 2001 census.

In Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, the sex ratio at 838 is a telling commentary on the societal mindset, said a speaker.

Ms Sankaranarayanan took a dim view of the fact that nurturing a girl-child is considered akin to watering the neighbour's garden in some segments of the society.

According to fashion-designer Ms Shaina N.C., notwithstanding the fact that it boasts the crème de la crème of society, South Mumbai has the maximum number of cases of female foeticide in the metropolis.

“It is essential to change the mindset of society. If mothers-in-law long for granddaughters, the problem of female infanticide will not exist,” she said.

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