WUNRN
INDIA - INCREASING GENDER
IMBALANCE - PREFERENCE FOR BOYS - LAW BUT LOOPHOLES - FEMALE ABORTIONS &
INFANTICIDE |
|
India has only 914 girls for every 1,000 boys, according to the latest
census [Davinder Kumar/Plan International] |
30
October 2011 - Dr Neelam Singh is on the front line of
Modern
medical technology - specifically ultrasounds for determining the baby's sex -
coupled with ancient cultural values which give preference to boys, mean that
hundreds of thousands of girls are never being born.
There were only 914 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of
six in
"I feel the demand [for abortions] every day," Singh told Al Jazeera. "Parents say it's important to have a son in the family. They want to keep their family name. I see this as the most heinous kind of discrimination towards a girl child."
A
gynecologist in
The
world's population will hit seven billion later in October, according to the UN,
and the problem of imbalanced gender ratios is getting worse in several
regions.
Widespread patriarchy
"In
India, there is a confluence of factors leading to passive infanticide, active
infanticide or sex selective abortion," Valerie Hudson, a professor of
political science at Brigham Young University who studies birth rates, told Al
Jazeera.
"Probably
the most important is the tradition of dowry [payment to a prospective
husband]. Having to marry a girl off may be the equivalent of several years of
income for a family. A daughter is often seen as a liability on necessary
family resources." Restrictive property rules, where inheritance is passed
from father to son rather than to daughters, male dominated funeral rights and
parental hopes that male breadwinners will support them through old age also
play a part in skewing demographics,
The
world's largest democracy still fares better than
By
2020, an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of men in some regions of northwest
Social disorder
These
massive social imbalances could spark a host of social problems.
"When
15 per cent of young adult males in your population will never become head of
household or heirs you will alienate these men in ways that cannot be
fixed,"
"The
historical record shows there can be distinct negative impacts on levels of
violent crime, riots and rebellion against the state," when large groups
of single young men are alienated and lack family commitments, according to
Hudson.
The
lack of women is being felt by bachelors, policy makers and women's rights
activists across
"
Governments
will likely funnel bachelors into the military, she said.
While
prospects for conflict are unclear, other problems including human trafficking,
prostitution and polyandry – men (usually relatives) sharing a wife - are certain
to get worse.
Governments are, however, trying to address the problem.
Legislative response
After
"Technology
allowing families to detect the sex of a foetus at an early stage and plan for
an abortion has been banned," said Mohammed Asif, director of programme
implementation with Plan
"The
government's law is stringent, but people have been trying to work around it,
going to far away clinics and giving fake addresses. Loopholes have been
exploited and a key strategy would be to take action against illegal ultra
sound clinics," Asif told Al Jazeera.
Other
researchers don't think legal changes are the best way to improve the
situation. If cultural values discourage against having girls, families can
find other ways of getting rid of them without advanced screening
techniques.
"Ultra
sound technology is just the latest wave to select a son preference,"
Pande said. "In rural Uttar Pradesh and
No cure in education
Contrary
to popular belief, education, status and upward mobility can actually make the
problem worse.
"You
have a much greater chance of survival as a girl baby if born to a poor family,
rather than a rich family,"
While
national trends are cause for concern, the situation is improving in some
areas. "Tamil Nadu is one of the few states where we have seen an
improvement," said Sharada Srinivasan, a professor of gender studies at
In
addition to counselling, and the creation of self-help groups for women, the
southern state is using the carrot and the stick approach. "The government
has created a massive cash transfer programme" to entice parents to keep
baby girls, Srinivasan told Al Jazeera. Parents who commit infanticide are
increasingly being prosecuted for homicide, she said.
Tamil
Nadu also hosts some of
While
cash incentives, laws against gender selective ultrasounds, harsh punishments
and economic changes all play a role, changing deeply ingrained social values
is arguably the most important issue, and the most difficult.
Some
communities in
"There
is no way you can tax patriarchy," Srinivasan said. "Public action
has a role to play in changing social norms. History is full of examples of
this."