BURIED ALIVE
Indian girl, 7, survives being buried alive
Police say they have yet to establish a motive for the attack. But cases of baby girls being killed are not uncommon in India, where women are often discriminated against socially and girls are seen as a financial burden, particularly among poor communities.
Indian baby who was 'buried alive'
The case of a baby girl who was allegedly buried alive in the state of Uttar Pradesh has shocked many Indians, as the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder reports.
Newborn baby girl found buried alive in Indian forest in ANOTHER tragic case of female infanticide.
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The baby was just 24 hours old when she was left for dead
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She was found still alive but died of her injuries the following day
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Female infanticide and foeticide is rife in India as many families want boys
Female Foeticide is rife in India, as many families prefer having baby boys to girls. It’s a nation wide crisis and recent figures have estimated that there are now 750 females to every 1000 males in the country.
A UNICEF report in 2006 revealed that 10 million girls were killed - either before they were born or immediately after - by their parents from 1986 in India.
Last year, the medical journal Lancet stated that 500,000 girls in India were being lost annually through sex-selective abortions.
Female foeticide, the act of aborting a foetus because it is female, is a major social problem in India where there is a strong preference for sons over daughters.
A recent study found 500,000 unborn girls were being aborted every year. A UNICEF report in 2006 revealed that 10 million girls were killed - either before they were born or immediately after - by their parents from 1986 in India.
The practise is most prominent in Gujarat and the North Indian states, where there are low recorded rates of female children.
Female infanticide, the act of killing unwanted baby girls, is a long-standing cultural problem across the whole of the Indian sub continent owing to the patriarchal nature of society.
Male children are preferred in the belief they will bring wealth and prosperity to the family while female children are often viewed as burdens.
Another factor is the dowry system, where the family of the bride give a large sum of money or valuable goods to the groom and his family.
Although the dowry system has been outlawed it continues to be deeply ingrained in Indian culture.
Families with several daughters can find the practise of paying a dowry a serious burden.
Female foeticide began in the early 1990s as a result of the availability in India of ultrasound techniques capable of determining the sex of an unborn child.
As a result, 80 per cent of Indian districts have reported a greater ratio of male to female children since 1991.
The practise is believed to have led to an increase in human trafficking with women being bought and sold as brides in areas where there are a greater proportion of men.