The Adolescent Sexuality and Early Marriage Series comprises of research studies, consultation reports and analysis by Partners for Law in Development (PLD), that bri

The objective of the

Every year, as millions of women marry, they dream of starting a family, of having their homes filled with tiny cries and the happy laughter of gurgling babies. In India however, pregnancy is too often followed by the question of
whether the unborn child is a girl or a boy.

NUPTIALITY plays a significant role in determining the level of fertility and growth rate in a population. The experience of several less developed countries where population growth rates have recently lowered has well demonstrated this effect.

The high female infant mortality rates (Miller, 1985), the practice of female infanticide (Krishnaswamy, 1988), the neglect of female children with regard to access to health services, nutrition (Sen and Sengupta 1983) and education (Mankekar, 1985), and the sexual abuse of girls (Bhalerao, 1985)

In a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-religious country like India, it is to be expected that we have several world-views operating at the same time in people's search for health and healing.

From time to time, Indian demographers have advocated that the age at marriage of girls be raised so as to reduce the reproductive span of women, and thereby, bring down the birth rate.

Cancer of the cervix is the most prevalent form of cancer in developing countries, and accounts for 25 to 50 per cent of all cancers occurring in Indian women.

How does one analytically locate the social phenomenon manifested in India during the last few years since the advent of sex-selection technology in the mid- 70s?