India Matters: Missing Girls

This week on India Matters, we travel to western UP and Haryana to find out that neglect of the healthcare of the girl child is the most direct determinant of mortality. Health-related neglect may involve waiting longer before taking a sick girl to a doctor than a sick boy, girls are breast-fed for shorter periods, and is also reflected in lower rates of immunisation for girls than boys. Female children are given less food, both in quality and quantity, and therefore are undernourished compared to male children. The female child's status is the result of general societal attitude towards women at large in our country.