The female sex is conventionally seen as a burden to the family in India

The study involved qualitative primary field research in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, as well as a review of secondary literature and an evaluation of existing mass media messaging.

Completed in September 2006, the study concluded that mass media has a role to play in reducing the demand for sex selection technologies and the overall devaluation of the female sex.

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Perceived burden

The are now 36 million more men than women in India and disparities in the male to female ratio are among the worst in the world.

The conventional image of a daughter as a burden and a son as a financial provider remains pervasive in Indian society.

Many families decide to take a test to determine the sex of a foetus, so it can be aborted if it is female. Yet, the issue is complex, sensitive and changing.

Attitudes towards women, the availability of technology, socio-economic pressures and reproductive rights all play a part.

Projecting a more positive image

One possible route to tackle the problem is to raise awareness and seek attitudinal and behaviour change using mass media.

Mass media could effectively address the practice by presenting positive images of a modern woman making her own decisions.

However the report emphasises that a mass media campaign should sensitive to the prevailing negative connotations of being ‘modern,’ such as a perceived loss of culture and honour.

Care must also be taken not to create a bias against legal and safe abortions, with the avoidance of medical or abortion-related images.

As the practices of sex selection involve conflicts between generations and husbands and wives, as well as issues around sexuality and reproduction – elements that form the core of mainstream fictional dramas – the study recommends that a TV fiction drama is an ideal vehicle to address the issue.

The feasibility study was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.