New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
on Thursday said it was a "national shame" that the practice of
female foeticide was continuing in the country despite women
breaking existing barriers to prove their worth in every
sphere.
"The provisional population totals for Census 2011 have
been released recently. While most of the news appears to be
good, the falling child sex ratio is an indictment of our
social values," he said inaugurating the Civil Services Day
here.
Improving this ratio was not merely a question of
stricter compliance with the existing laws and "What is more
important is how we view and value the girl child in our
society," he said.
"Our girls and women have done us proud in classrooms,
in boardrooms and on the sports field. They have broken
existing barriers to prove their worth in almost every
sphere", the Prime Minister said.
"It is a national shame for us that despite this,
female foeticide and infanticide continues in many parts of
our country", he said, adding the social bias against women
has to be fought with all the physical and moral resources.
Seeking a national campaign to counter this bias,
Singh told the civil servants to play a big role in launching
a crusade against it.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011, 13:18