India accounts for 45.8 million of the world’s ‘missing females’, says UN report

News: United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) has released the State of World Population Report 2020.

Facts:

• Title of the report: ‘Against my will: defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality’.
• Focus of the report: The report focuses on the problem of child marriage, son preference, gender biased sex selection(GBSS) and female genital mutilation(FGM).

Key Takeaways:

• Harmful practices: The report identifies 19 harmful practices against women out of which 3 are most widespread and persistent: Female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage and son preference.
• Missing Females: India accounts for 45.8 million of the world’s 142.6 million missing females over the past 50 years due to gender based sex selection and preference for sons.
• Child marriage: Globally, one in five girls is married by age 18.
• Female Genital Mutilation: In 2020, an estimated 4.1 million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation.

Additional Facts:

• UNFPA: It is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.It aims to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted,every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.Its headquarters is located at New York, United States.