Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Female foeticide takes place when a foetus is aborted after it is determined to be female. Under this illegal practice, the sex of the unborn child is determined by using the technique of ultrasound and if it happen
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
Female foeticide takes place when a foetus is aborted after it is determined to be female. Under this illegal practice, the sex of the unborn child is determined by using the technique of ultrasound and if it happens to be a female foetus, it is aborted through medicine or surgery. It is one of the most rampant social evils in the country. It is rooted in the patriarchal mindset where boys are preferred over girls for various irrational reasons, not only in rural but urban areas too. We have to raise awareness levels against the regressive practice of female foeticide, enforce laws far more stringently and provide much more incentives to the households for the birth of a girl child. The patriarchal social structure in India and the society’s preference towards a male child is the major reason behind female foeticide. To carry forward the generation, families in general prefer the birth of sons over daughters. The male child is also required by the Hindu family to perform the last rites of father in the absence of which, it is believed that the father would not attain salvation after death. In most traditional, conservative families, a girl child is more or less considered a liability or a burden, due to the frequent demands of huge sum in the form of dowry at the time of her marriage. On the other hand, it is seen that the father of the male child bargains very hard to maximize the benefits of marriage for his son. Though the parents have to face similar ordeals in getting their kids educated and settled in their lives, whether they are boys or girls, however, the mindset inclined towards the baby boy refuses to go, giving way to killing of female foetuses. With the progress of science and technology, it is quite easy to find out the gender of the foetus. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous medical practitioners are also found to be increasingly involved in the illegal trade of carrying out sex-determination tests and later complying with the wishes of the parents for abortion of the foetus, if it is found out to be female. Female foeticide is nothing but the misuse of pre-natal technology which was invented to detect abnormality in unborn child before it could actually take birth. It’s really very unfortunate that the technology is often used in detecting the sex of the foetus and if it is a girl, then parents have no qualms in getting it aborted.
Which of the following statements is correct about India's patriarchal mindset?
1). Boys are preferred over girls to to carry forward the generation
2). Boys are preferred over girls to perform last rites of the father
3). Girls are considered more like a liability due to the frequent demands of dowry
4). All of the above
