Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 18: State Judicial Academy today organised one day special training programme on the Jammu & Kashmir Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Sex Selection/Determination (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 2002.
The training programme was inaugurated by Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir along with Justice Alok Aradhe, Chairman, J&K State Judicial Academy and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal, Member, Judicial Academy. All the Chief Judicial Magistrates and Sub-Judges of Jammu Province participated in the programme.
Justice Alok Aradhe, in his special address, said, “female foeticide has its roots in the social thinking which is fundamentally based on certain erroneous notions, egocentric traditions, perverted perception of societal norms and obsession with ideas which are totally individualistic”.
“All involved in female foeticide deliberately forget to realize that when the foetus of a girl child is destroyed, a woman of the future is crucified. To put it differently, the present generation invites the sufferings on its own and also sows the seeds of suffering for the future generation as in the ultimate eventuate the sex ratio gets affected and leads to manifold social problems”, he further said, adding “no awareness campaign can ever be complete unless there is real focus on the women empowerment”.
Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, in his inaugural address, said, “preference to a male child over a girl child is a matter of grave concern. Such tendency offends dignity of women. It undermines their importance. It violates woman’s right to life and Article 39(e) of the Constitution”.
“Sex selection is against the spirit of the Constitution. It insults and humiliates womanhood. This is perhaps the greatest argument in favour of total ban on sex selection”, Justice Mir said and emphasised that the Government, the Non-Government Organisations including Legal Service Authorities are required to create awareness which is really effective to enlighten the people about the Constitutional concepts, culture, philosophy, religion, scriptural commands and object behind the Act.
Earlier, Abdul Rashid Malik, Director, State Judicial Academy, in his introductory remarks, emphasised that gender bias and deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination against the girl and preference of the male child have led to the misuse of technology for gender biased sex selection leading to demographic imbalance in the last two decades.
He said that deliberation of the programme will be documented and sent to the appropriate authorities under the Act so as to ensure implementation of the Act in letter and spirit.
Anuja Gulati, State Programme Coordinator, United Nations Population Fund (UNFP), Maharashtra deliberated upon the background of the Jammu & Kashmir Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Sex Selection/Determination (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 2002, role & functions of authorities under the Act with special reference to role of judiciary, trial process, enforcement challenges and feedback & interaction with participant judges.
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