Supreme Court Asks Yahoo, Google and Microsoft to Block Sex Determination Ads

Last year, the apex court had approached Google India, Yahoo India and Microsoft India with the concern that they were violating Indian laws by showing info regarding sex-determination of foetus. On Monday, the health ministry told India's Supreme Court that the three companies have agreed to shut down such advertisements that do not comply to Indian laws. The Supreme Court had approached these companies asking them to either abide to the domestic laws or stop their operations in the region completely.

In 1994, conducting, advertising and selling foetal sex selection services was made a punishable offence. According to the 2011 census, the sex ration of the country was at 943 females per 1000 males. 

A 2015 United Nations report stated that India had one of the most skewed sex ratios in the world, in under five age group. The UN added that 100 girls die by the age of five, compared with 93 boys. (as reported by livemint.com)A lot of cultural history influences put sons on priority for many families, even mothers who believe having a male child will bring them more respect.

Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Congress spokesperson told SheThePeople, "This is definitely one of the few steps that are needed to solve the problem of female foetal deaths. It should also be noted that this is not just a rural problem, even in Urban India there are families who still prioritise having a male child over a female. There are some wealthy families who will travel abroad just for this procedure and get an abortion if they find out the sex of the child is female. This step will not quite resolve the problem, but is definitely a move that is significant in recognising other various moves that will build up to fix the issue."

Feature Image Courtesy: supremecourt.nic.in