Female Foeticide in India and Womens Rights

According to the State of the World's Children 2007 report released by UNICEF it is estimated that each year more than half a million women - roughly one woman every minute dies as a result of pregnancy complications and childbirth. In the year 2000
India accounted for one quarter of all maternal deaths. Time Use surveys in India reveal that women typically spend 35 hours per week on household tasks and caring for children, the sick and elderly against 4 hours per week for men.

Out of 71,000 children born every day in India, just 31,000 are girls - giving a sex ratio of 882 girls to 1,000 boys. But the global sex ratio - which is 954 girls to 1,000 boys - suggests that 38,000 girls should be born in India every day. Despite laws banning sex determination tests, female foeticide is common in much of India, where families view boys as being a better asset than girls. "Modern diagnostic techniques for monitoring the health of a foetus, such as amniocentesis and ultrasound, have made it possible to ascertain sex in the earliest phase of gestation," the report stated. See more here and here
and here