Feticide In Hinduism

Hinduism is most influential in the south east region of the world having accumulated 1,025, 4700,000 followers. It teaches the importance of creating our own destiny through our actions. God, souls and the cosmos are of the utmost importance in finding the truth about one’s approach to life. Hindus believe in many things, but a few of the concept on Hinduism has caused quite a stir, such as the treatment of women in Hindu society.

The portrayal of women in the Hindu culture that are established within tradition, religion and beliefs are expressed as being contradictory at times. The Hindu scripture portrays women [“as servant and goddess, strumpet and saint, the protected daughter and powerful matriarch, the shunned widow and the worshipped

Today sonograms and amniocentesis are being misused in combination with the selective nature of having to have a baby boy rather than a baby girl. Despite laws regulating that female feticide (is the selective abortion of female fetuses) accounts for a penal offence, the practice of feticide is still considered to be new because of the technological advancement that has become available for access. This upwards killing of one million females in India yearly has tragic consequences. “In some areas, the sex ration of females to males has dropped to less than 800:1000 ().” Ethical consideration for female feticide and gender selections are of a great concern for modern Hinduism. It was taught for thousands of years that male children are welcomed more than females. A son is needed so that he will be able to inherit the traditional duties laid out by their ancestors. In this patriarchal sense, sons are the ones who would continue the family lineage and are often counted on to look after their parents. The daughters on the contrary are used for the benefits of their husband’s family. Not only are Indian women being faced with inequality within their culture, they are denied the right to give birth to their baby. The root of the problems stems from economic hardships and the need for prosperity because the female side of the family are the one’s who have to pay dowry to the future bridegroom. Although the dharmashastra texts maintains “that the unborn fetus has life,” the Indian culture has made it acceptable for females to abort their fetuses, even by religious leaders, because of the contradictory representation of females in Hinduism. While the representation of women are hazy and are viewed as economic burdens, the role of a son has stayed precise and solid even in the