Femicide of girls in contemporary India

Abstract

While the study of femicide has progressed recently, research into the femicide of girls is still new. The femicide of girls is the murder of girls because they are girls, and because they would have grown up to be women. This article examines different forms of girl femicide in India, a country traditionally associated with sati and infanticide. Several types of femicide in India have been identified, ranging from foeticide to intimate partner femicide, and including dowry marriage femicides, «honor»-related killings and other forms of femicide. These killings are perpetrated against a weakened minority – women – and an even more weakened minority – girls. Often they are aimed at the weakest elements in society: girls hailing from Dalit, other oppressed communities.