India has a missing women crisis it needs to address now

"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own." — Audre Lorde

The distressing issue of missing women has long cast a shadow over India's diverse landscape. In a nation known for its cultural richness and diversity, the revelation of the pervasive reality of missing women and girls is deeply disheartening. The monsoon session of Parliament brought this issue to the forefront of public attention. To a question I raised in the House, the response provided by the minister was both chilling and profoundly moving.

The challenge

What the nation needs to know is that within the vibrant tapestry of India's societal fabric, the startling truth about the magnitude of missing women and girls emerges as a sombre reminder of gender equality and the steeply uphill battle against gender-based violence, human trafficking, and discriminatory practices. Recent government data has unveiled a staggering figure of missing girls and women, between 2019 and 2021, which is over 1.31 million!

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report reveals that more than a million women above 18 years of age and a quarter of a million girls below the age of 18 have gone missing during this timeframe. These numbers lay bare the vulnerability of women and girls across the expansive landscape of India. It underscores the complex and pressing challenges of what we as a civilised society must face, and what the nation must necessarily combat.

Initiated by a directive from the Supreme Court of India in 2019, the earlier analysis undertaken by the NCRB aimed to identify regions susceptible to child and women trafficking. As per this analysis, the causes of these disappearances are complex and multifaceted, ranging from mental health issues and miscommunication to domestic violence and criminal victimisation. Yet, the persistent threat of trafficking for forced marriages, child labour, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation continues to loom ominously. Numbers in states may vary, but the problem exists almost everywhere.

Zooming out to the global context, the 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons sheds light on the disproportionate victimisation of females in trafficking for sexual exploitation. This grim revelation serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive gender-based violence and exploitation that persist worldwide.

Delving back into the national landscape, the phenomenon of ‘missing women’ paints a deeply concerning picture. As of 2019, while Maharashtra led the nation in the number of missing women, closely trailed by Madhya Pradesh and followed by West Bengal, these states stand as the epicentres of vulnerability. Notably, as per the report, metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Indore have reported alarmingly high incidents of such disappearances.

Missing women

Throughout their life gender discrimination against women remains ingrained across the entire strata of society. The term ‘missing women’ encapsulates the disparity between the expected and actual count of women within a specific region, or nation. This discrepancy is rooted in multifaceted factors like sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, and insufficient healthcare and nourishment for young girls. Coined by Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, this term encapsulates the profound repercussions of gender-based bias and the discrimination that moves from cradle to grave.

Regrettably, the count of ‘missing women’ has witnessed an alarming surge, more than doubling over the past five decades, surging from 61 million in 1970 to an astonishing aggregate of 142.6 million by 2020. In this disconcerting trend, India's contribution is staggering, accounting for 45.8 million absent women as of 2020. This indicates that the existing government initiatives are leading us nowhere.

The prevalence of gender-biased sex selection and the subsequent mortality of female infants play a pivotal role in perpetuating this distressing phenomenon. The elevated rate of surplus female deaths in India casts a grim light on the reality that approximately one in nine female deaths under the age of five may be attributed to postnatal sex selection.

Conclusion

Looking forward, nations that have ratified international treaties must take on the responsibility of ending harm against girls, regardless of whether it is perpetuated by family members, religious groups, or even the State. The road ahead demands collective efforts from society, governmental bodies, and international organisations to address the pressing issue of missing women in India. By tackling the root causes and fostering a culture of gender equality, a brighter and safer future for women and girls across India can be achieved.

From silence to solidarity, we need to progress towards building a world where no woman goes missing!

(Fauzia Khan, former Minister of State in Government of Maharashtra, is Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Twitter: @DrFauziaKhanNCP)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.