One rupee is not a rupee – one boy is not a boy

“One rupee is not a rupee, one boy is not a boy,” said a housewife from Shivpuri district of MP. Sex ratio in MP has declined at an alarming rate. It's the desire among people to have more than one son that is responsible for declining sex ratio



THIS IS the story from a village in India, which falls in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. It is a story of how a girl child is still unwanted. Even if one visits the district today it is the son the families want

"One rupee is not a rupee – one boy is not a boy," said Radha, a housewife in Sirsod, a village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, while she was visiting primary health centre of her village for her son’s vaccination. It was the first Tuesday of October and was the ‘Vaccination Day’ in the district. She was there to get her son – (her fourth alive child) Kapsingh vaccinated. It could have been her fifth child if she had not lost her girl child few years back. In a possibility of exploring answers why they have so many kids (like a typical social worker), I slowly went ahead and had a conversation with her, other women, and the Anganwadi workers. Is it the pressure of having son or just ignorance regarding use of family planning method or something else? Well Radha’s eldest child was a son and rest were all daughters. She told us it is mainly due to son that they have so many children but it is not one son that they want. They want at least two sonsIt is that pressure within community and belief that ‘one son is not a son’ just like ‘one rupee is not a rupee’. But why two? Mangal Singh, a community member pointed out that people out here feel if you have only one son he may be left alone if there is a fight or when it comes to defending one’s family, one son is not enough. If something happens to one son, then who will take the name of the family forward? In earlier times, Shivpuri also had dacoits. If you have two sons then you are secure and have the so-called ‘power to defend’.



Another woman standing next to Radha at the Anganwadi with her seven-month-old son on her lap echoed this fact. She was more educated than Radha, and had studied till class tenth and her husband was a teacher. But even for her it was the fifth child, which was a son, after four girls. She added that in our case we do not differentiate between son and daughter, but we need a son – he runs generation ahead.



Your surname ie your family name dwindles if you have a daughter because when she gets married she will adopt another family’s name. If you want your family name, your generation to grow - you need a son. Families just want to have two sons. Nobody wants a daughter. It is this strong bias and with growing reach of ultrasonography and sex-determination technology that the female sex ratio in this part of the state is dwindling. It is not only Shivpuri, but even districts like Morena and Bhind have a sex ratio below 850 girls per 1000 boys. This is an issue, which needs urgent intervention. Though we have laws but these have not been implemented properly. There is a strong need to bring a change in the attitude of the people towards a girl child..