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.

Violence and sexuality share a circular relationship: violence not only sets the parameters of individuals sexuality, it also affects their sexual persona and makes sexuality a space of fear and shame.

Violence is generally interpreted as physical, sexual and mental abuse of individuals.

Gender violence causes more death and ability among women aged 14-44 than cancer, malaria, tmffic accidents, or even war.

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)

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?