Regarding Aspects of Demography
West
Bengal is the third most populous state in India . The male-female ratio in West
Bengal's population (934) is now marginally higher than the all-India average.
The state's Infant Mortality Rate, Child Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality
Rate compare favorably with the all-India figures and its Total Fertility Rate
is expected to soon reach the replacement level of just over 2 per women of
childbearing age. However, the following concerns emerge in the course of our
present study , each meriting urgent attention:
Apart from the
secular decline observed in the male-female ratio of the population as a whole,
the falling sex ratio in the age group 0-6 years is a grave cause for
concern. West Bengal's child sex ratio is now 963, with even lower ratios for a
number of districts and Kolkata. Despite the introduction of
Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex
Selection) Act, relentless abuse of
sophisticated medical technology continues, leading to female foeticide and the
girl child is still exposed to many types of deprivation. These critical issues
have to be countered with vigorous and sustained awareness building about the
worth of the girl child through all possible means coupled with stringent
monitoring of pre-natal diagnostic facilities by designated agencies.
Though infant and
child mortality in West Bengal have remained lower than the all-India average,
the state's IMR of 49 per 1000 live births
(in the 1990s) is still high and there are marked rural-urban differences
in IMR as well as inter-district disparities. It should be possible to identify
high IMR locations in West Bengal districts so that health care facilities for
both mother and child can be reviewed and deficiencies
addressed on a priority basis.
As shown in our
Under-Five Mortality Map for West Bengal districts, recent research has
identified a noticeable gender gap in mortality rates for children under five
years of age living in urban areas of the state. As the next step, we need to
identify the factors that may give
rise to such gendered mortality patterns, so that appropriate interventions can
follow.
Elderly women will
now account for a rising share of our population and census data indicate that a
large proportion among them will be widows. Since older women are known to be a
vulnerable group because of economic insecurity, physical infirmity
and lack of kin support, new schemes need to be devised in anticipation
of their growing needs and the few
existing schemes need to be made more inclusive and more accessible.
Dissemination of information of all such schemes need to be vastly improved.
Though West Bengal's
mean age of marriage for girls had gone up to
19.6 years in 1998-99, about
one-third of 15-19 year old girls were reported to have been married in 2001.
Our Early Marriage Map for Bengal districts indicates the areas with frequent
occurrence of marriages where the bride's age
was below 18 years - the legal age of marriage for girls. Besides the
need for mounting special campaigns in such areas for alerting people about
the harmful consequences of early marriage , there are strong grounds
also for compulsory registration of marriages, along with compulsory proof of
age.
Pressure of
population and proliferaion of slums in urban areas are known to create serious
problems that affect people's quality of life, particularly that of
women and children living in congested areas. It is imperative,
therefore, that local authorities concentrate on mapping out the most deprived
areas so that provision is made for essential amenities such as clean water,
sanitation , medical facilities and
primary schools. They must also work towards a safe and violence-free
neighbourhood , to ensure security and mobility for women and children.
Dearth of suitable
data often becomes a major constraint in policy formulation for disadvantaged
groups. Building a data base for women with special needs should therefore
deserve priority - particularly with reference to
women belonging to scheduled tribes, women who are heads of households ,
widowed and abandoned women,
adolescent girls , women with
disability and women afflicted with HIV/AIDS.