Femicide is the polite legal term for it - the growing practice which for generations has brought death to countless infant girls in villages throughout India. The centuries-old dowry system dooms families with girls to poverty, debt and despair. In order to secure a marriage for their daughter, an Indian family must pay a fortune to the groom’s family. Often this involves selling any property they have, or descending hopelessly into debt. Even then, if the dowry is not enough a young bride may even be driven to suicide by her husband’s family, to make way for a more lucrative match.

For the 80% of Indians who live in isolated villages, gender-specific abortion (tragically common in much of Asia) is not an option, as they often have no access to such medical services. These combined circumstances have spawned the quiet killing of an increasing number of newborn girls. Baby boys are always spared, as they will be able to demand a dowry in marriage.