Patna, April 12: Gopalganj continues to be an island within Bihar — the only district of the state which boasts of a sex ratio in which females outnumber males.

The district has 1015 females for every 1,000 males as per the 2011 Census report.

Gopalganj had a very healthy sex ratio in the 2001 Census as well, of 1001.

Experts are divided on why Gopalganj continues to have a sex ration more favourable to women in a state where preference for a male child is well known and where no other district has more females than males.

Some demographers see the explanation in migratory labour.

“A good number of the male population of this district migrate to other states and even outside the country in search of employment. As the majority of those opting for migration are from the low income group, they leave behind their family members in Gopalganj. This may be a possible reason for the kind of sex ratio the district boasts of,” said Arun Kumar Sinha, honorary director, Population Research Centre.

He said testimony to the large-scale migration of male members from the district was the fact that Gopalganj figured in the list of those districts across India which receives the highest amount of money-order in terms of numbers.

Throwing some more insight into the migration aspect, Ras Bihari Singh, expert on population geography and head of the department of geography at Patna University, said: “Male migration from Gopalganj district was prevalent even in the pre-Independence era. In those days, a large number of male members used to migrate to Assam. The destination changed over the years but the trend of migration continued.” He said that after migration of male members, the families are headed by women. Hence chances of female foeticide were minimal and this would certainly have worked as a factor determining the healthy sex ratio in the district.

Gopalganj-based social worker Shweta Singh, who is into social work for the past 15 years, attributed the healthy sex ratio to the prevalent social belief that a girl child was good omen for the family.

“I am saying so on the basis of my direct interaction with people. In rural areas people are more respectful towards girl children,” she said.

She said the good performance by girl students in their careers had further bolstered people’s belief that girls were good omen for the family.