Equally disturbing is the fact that in areas where abortion is
inaccessible, female infanticide is not an uncommon occurrence. This
deliberate killing of female infants soon after birth was common in China
in the past and although it was thought to have been largely eradicated after the Communist
revolution, in recent years there have been again
reports of the practice after the government adopted the"one couple-one
child"policy and strictly enforced it. Female infanticide has also been
observed in different parts of rural Tamil Nadu, South India. A study
undertaken by one NGO found that 8-10 percent of all infant deaths in
1995 was attributed to female infanticide. As a practice, most killings are
committed by a senior woman in the family, usually the paternal
grandmother. Up to 80-90 percent of the victims are girls of higher birth
order. Despite the local government's attempt to root out the practice by
the year 2000 by giving monetary incentives to high-risk families, it is
doubtful whether such strategies can bring about any lasting changes.