Man's chromosomes, not woman’s, decide child's gender: Delhi High Court

Parents who give their daughters-in-law a hard time for not mothering a son must be told that it is their son whose chromosomes will decide the child’s gender, not the woman’s, the Delhi High Court has said.

The court, while dealing with the death of a woman over dowry, said the idea of a woman's worth being tied to material considerations contradicts the principles of equality and dignity.

Harassed to death

The woman died after being allegedly harassed by her husband and in-laws for bringing insufficient dowry and giving birth to two daughters.

“The persistent prevalence of regressive mindsets and instances exemplified by cases involving insatiable demands for dowry underscores a broader societal concern,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said.

“It highlights the challenges faced by married women, whose intrinsic value and dignity should not be contingent upon their parents' ability to meet the insatiable financial demands from their in-laws,” she said.

Tormenting bride

The high court said it was disturbing that instead of providing the daughter-in-law love and support, the new bride is met with unrelenting greed and harassment from the in-laws.

It said the trauma was multiplied when the victim of a dowry-related offence gives up her life due to constant torture and harassment, more so when the two daughters she gave birth to also become a ground to traumatise her as if she alone is to blame for the child’s gender.

Gender issue

“Surprisingly, the genetic science in this regard is ignored according to which, the genetic determination of gender of the unborn child when the child is conceived, involves the combination of X and Y chromosomes, with females possessing two X chromosomes (XX) and males having one X and one Y chromosome (XY).

“According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the outcome of fertilisation depends on whether an unfertilised egg fuses with a sperm carrying an X or Y chromosome, resulting in the birth of a girl or boy respectively,” the high court said.

The judge said the court had dealt with numerous cases of harassment, nagging and suicide or dowry deaths due to the victim being victimised for giving birth to daughters.

No bail

Justice Sharma said the court was “constrained to observe that such people need to be educated that it is their son and not their daughter-in-law whose chromosomes through the union of a married couple will decide the gender of their child”.

The court denied bail to the husband in the dowry death case.

Dowry hunger

The father of the deceased woman alleged that the accused and his family pressured his daughter for additional dowry and financial demands, causing significant distress.

His daughter was also mistreated for giving birth to two daughters.

(With agency inputs)