Hyderabad: Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), the apex body of adoption in the country, released adoption details after an RTI query that showed that nearly 60 per cent of children adopted in the last six years were girls.
The Telugu cities did not disappoint as statistics show an increase in the number of adoptions and more successful running of adoption centres. Telangana, especially, has fared much better than Andhra Pradesh, with 137 in-country adoptions as opposed to AP’s 102.adoptions.
The number of inter-country adoptions in Telangana is also significantly higher than AP with 46 adoptions as opposed to 19 in Andhra Pradesh.
The findings of the CARA report that more female children were adopted even in states with a gender- skewed ratio proved true in the Telugu speaking states as well. Some 108 females were adopted in the year 2017-18 as opposed to 29 males.
Dr Gundlapally Sreenu, member of the Advisory Committee of CARA, says, “We visited 27 states to look into their adoption procedures and the general findings show that most couples want female children because they believe that girls are more loving and affectionate.”
“Although there’s a lot of misconception that female children in rural areas are unwanted because of dowry and other reasons, most couples looking for adoptions choose female children. It is like a 60:40 ratio between parents wanting female children and male children. It is a welcome change because stereotyping has led to a skewed gender ratio in the country.”
Maharashtra recorded the highest number of adoptions in the country - 642 adoptions, with 353 of them being girls. Karnataka stood at second place with 286 adoptions out of which 167 were of girls. CARA officials stated that Maharashtra was leading not just because of the size of the state but because of the number of adoption agencies. While most states average at 20, Maharashtra has 60 adoption centres. TS has 10 centres and AP has 14.
While talking about how TS continues to fare better than AP, Dr Sreenu said, “The child welfare department in Telangana is doing a brilliant job in rescue of children and rehabilitating them.
Special mention needs to be given to Nalgonda district. The more effort that is put in, the more the adoption centres will improve.”
The number of parents who opt for adopting more than one child is less, say CARA officials. And the adoption process is also stricter for these parents. A home study report is conducted that lists the psychological, emotional, medical and financial status of the parents and it is assessed if the parents will be able to handle more than one child. Suggestions are given to parents to try for adoption after a few years if it is not approved in the first go.
Many NRI couples are keen on adoption these days, primarily from the USA, France and Italy, which has caused the increase in inter-country adoptions.
Although the women and child development ministry had proposed a new rule in 2017 that single women who are above the age of 40 can adopt, there is not much evidence of this happening.
A senior official at Shishugraha says, “Being single above a certain age should not be considered as a reason to not be able to adopt.”
“This step will prove beneficial as there are a lot of children waiting for homes and because women are career oriented now, there are a lot of women who are capable of raising a child on their own without external support.”
