Justice BV Nagarathna Raises Alarm Over Declining Sex Ratios, Says Girls Deserve Equal Chance To Thrive

Supreme Court Judge Justice BV Nagarathna has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating child sex ratio in certain Indian states, cautioning that the problem may be attributable to female infanticide and foeticide. Addressing a national consultation on protecting the girl child, she asserted that girls in India need to be empowered to “not just survive, but thrive.”

Nagarathna was speaking at the National Annual Stakeholders Consultation on “Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment for Her in India”, organised by the Juvenile Justice Committee (JJC) of the Supreme Court in partnership with UNICEF India. Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, and other judges of the apex court also attended.

Concerning sex ratios

“Even the process of being born is the first hurdle a girl child has to overcome in India,” Justice Nagarathna said. She mentioned the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data which indicated marginal improvement in India’s child sex ratio from 914 girls per 1,000 boys in the 2011 Census to 929 girls per 1,000 boys in NFHS-5. But she cautioned against recent reports of increasing deteriorating ratios in some states, perhaps resulting from female foeticide or infanticide.

Justice Nagarathna, the chairperson of the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee, emphasized that an Indian girl can be said to be fully equal only when she enjoys the same liberty, opportunities, and means as a boy.

“The chances of her being born in the first place, having access to proper nutrition, care, education and a safe environment must be equal to that of a boy child. She should not just survive but actively flourish,” she declared.

Discrimination in food?

Concerning nutritional inequality, the judge indicated that a majority of families serve girls meals that are smaller or of less quality than those served to boys. Although she reviewed government programs such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Anaemia Mukt Bharat program, and the POSHAN Abhiyan initiatives, she stated that there could be more expended efforts to lessen the long term effects of early-life malnutrition on women’s cognitive and physical development.  

Regarding education, Justice Nagarathna noted the increase in school attendance by girls aged 15-17, but sounded the alarm on the dropout rate after secondary education due to gender bias or societal pressures. “Girls must stop their education so that the boys can continue,” she stated and encouraged gender neutral pathways towards education based upon equality and without bias.  

Justice Nagarathna noted a positive trend with the decline of child marriage by initiating policy and community mobilisation to eliminate child marriage; resulting in a 50% rate decrease in the last fifteen years.  

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