Bibipur, Haryana, July 14 (IBNS): A meeting of village councils, dubbed the Mahapanchayat, that congregated in Jind, Haryana has proposed that female foeticide should be treated on par with murder.
The event that was attended by nearly 200 khaps (village bodies) from various parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, passed a resolution here on Saturday, passed a resolution over the call on Saturday.
The meeting demanded an amendment in the Indian Penal Code to book the perpetrators of female foeticide on charges of murder, changing the current regulation that today allows a maximum sentence of imprisonment of up to five years.
The move underscored efforts bya section of Khaps in north India to put up a humane face as a mega congregation of the khaps in a Haryana village the also allowed women to participate and articulate their views on contentious issues, amid several anti-women and retrograde actions.
About 200 khaps meeting in Bibipur village Saturday in Jind district of Haryana discussed the menace of female foeticide, honour killing and dowry.
Women foeticide was among the major issues discussed at the big gathering of khap leaders.
According to the 2011 Census and other national statistics 700,000 girl children are missing at birth due to termination of pregnancy once a foetus’ sex is confirmed.
While all these menace continued unabated, recently hue and cry in media and programmes like Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate have brought the issues under focus.
Khap members and leaders from Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh attended the Haryana congregation aimed at building consensus on several issues.
Media reports said there was a huge excitement among women in the village as they are allowed to participate and put forward their views.
The meeting came in the backdrop of a khap panchayat decision in Uttar Pradesh banning women from venturing out alone from home after sundown and carrying cellphones.
