A baby died in India after a man allegedly ripped open his pregnant wife’s stomach with a sickle.
Based in a country with a longstanding cultural preference for male children, the man was accused to have done so because he wanted to check the gender of his unborn baby.
He, however, denied intentionally hurting his wife, stating that it was an accident and that he did not expect the sickle he threw would have injured her so severely.
According to reports, the couple has five daughters and the man has been putting pressure on his wife to deliver a son.
Furthermore, a priest had predicted that the couple was expecting their sixth daughter—another baby girl—the woman’s family told local media.
Following the attack which took place last Saturday at Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, the critically injured woman was brought to a hospital in the capital, Delhi, where doctors fought to save both her life and that of her unborn child.
It is not certain which stage in her pregnancy the woman was in during the time of the incident.
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While the injured wife was said to be in a stable condition in the hospital, police said she later gave birth to a stillborn son late on Sunday. Her husband had also been arrested, they said.
“I have five daughters, one of my sons is dead. I know that children are the gift of God. Now whatever is to happen, will happen,” the man said to local media.
Police investigations are ongoing.
In India, sons are prized more favourably over daughters as they are seen as breadwinners who inherit property and continue the family name.
On the other hand, daughters are seen as costly liabilities whereby parents have to pay for dowry when they get married.
The Indian law also does not allow doctors and health professionals to reveal to parents the sex of their unborn child, nor carry out tests to determine the gender.
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As such, the desire for sons has created 21 million “unwanted” girls, according to a 2018 Indian government report, and many couples continue to give birth to children until they had a boy.
It is said that only registered medical practitioners are allowed to perform abortions.
Still, a skewed gender ratio remains: despite a ban placed on selective abortions of female foetuses in India in 1994, the practice remains commonplace in the country.
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