The number of girls in India has dropped to 'emergency proportions', warns the United Nations.
Caused by millions of illegal abortions resulting from beliefs that daughters are of lesser worth than sons, the imbalance is fuelling an increase in crimes such as kidnapping and trafficking, according to a statement released by the United Nations. Despite laws that ban expectant parents from running tests to determine the gender of unborn children, female foeticide remains a common practice in parts of the country, where a preference for sons runs deep.