Indian is witnessing an alarming fall in child sex ratio2 since 1961. Sex selective abortions and
female infanticide due to cultural preferences for male child are considered as the causes of this
menace. Government of India had enacted various laws such as Medical Termination of
Pregnancy act 1971 and Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) act, 1994 to penalise such sex determination and selective abortion, but
the ratio is still showing an alarming decline.
The study hypothesis that improvements in female literacy rate and labour participation rate
helps to bring changes in the overall attitude of the society toward women and girl child and
there by helps to reduce female infant mortality and sex selective abortions. The study analyses
female literacy rate and labour participation rate of various states and the corresponding Child
Sex ratio. The study found that improvements in the female literacy rate had not adequately
reflected in the female labour participation rate. Even those states having a commendable
improvement in both the parameters failed to reflect an adequate improvement in the CSR. The
study concludes that mere improvements in female literacy rate and labour participation rate,
wouldn’t improve the status of women unless it is supplemented by targeted social and economic
empowerment. Analysing CSR from a multidimensional perspective, this paper argues how and
why gender sensitisation and women empowerment should be brought into the policy circle to
tackle this menace via transforming the life of the women and thus the society.