The males have outnumbered females in the land’s total headcount and one of the reasons for that to happen is said to be the unlawful practice of female foeticide which the authorities are finding it tricky to detect and unable to stop completely. Even catchy slogans created some years ago and flashed across the country for many years through large-sized hoardings and media publicity calling upon couples to have only two kids, male child to bring glory (keerthi) to the family and female for upholding the land’s religious customs (aarathi) didn’t seem to change the outlook on female child in the camps indulging in such inhuman practice.
Further, ironically enough, we read nowadays about sons as a class failing in their duty to care for their aged parents while daughters have emerged as not only bread-winners of their respective families but also care-takers of their parents in the evening of their life. The ethos towards gender-difference seems to be dictated by pragmatism as the males provide the workforce for agriculture and the females in total charge of keeping the hearth burning. Old-timers didn’t exactly relish when unisex attires emerged some years ago virtually eliminating the time-honoured way of distinguishing the two genders at first sight.
