RESUMO
Death is a tragedy in whatever form, at whatever time and in whatever way it comes. In India, killing of the newborn female child has been practiced from time immemorial for a variety of reasons. A female may be compelled to end her life at the alter of dowry or may be killed by a midwife or a doctor who is supposed to help her come into this world. The illegal use of ultrasonography techniques had emerged as a tool for killing of female fetus even inside the uterus. That is why it is said that “womb to tomb female is in danger”. To know the magnitude and pattern of Unnatural female deaths in Vadodara City of Gujarat, we have conducted an autopsy based retrospective study on 480 cases of female deaths in the department of Forensic Medicine during the year of 2008. All the data related to age, religion, marital status and cause of death with its manner were recorded with detailed autopsy examination and subsequently analyzed. We reached at a conclusion that majority of the victims were Hindu married females of younger age group between 20-30 years who died because of an extensive accidental burns.