A man who slashed the stomach of his pregnant wife with a sickle to ascertain the gender of their unborn baby has been arrested by the police in India.
The woman is in critical condition and has been detained at the intensive care unit of a hospital in the capital, New Delhi, whereas the baby boy has died following Saturday’s attack.
‘He ripped her stomach because he wanted to check the gender of the unborn child’ the woman’s brother, Golu Singh, told Reuters.
The couple already have five daughters. The man has been putting pressure on his wife to deliver a son.
Female children are often seen as a burden in India, with families having to pay dowries when they marry.
On the contrary, male children are valued as breadwinners and qualify to inherit property.
The preference for boys has led to a significant reduction in the number of girls in India.
Abortion of female fetuses has become rampant in India compelling government to ban doctors and health workers from sharing an unborn child’s sex with the parents, or carrying out tests to determine the child’s gender. Only registered medical practitioners are permitted to perform abortions. SOURCE: Kasatintin.com
