Gendercide
Skewed Sex ratios Due to Female Foeticide, Infanticide and Neglect of the Under-3 Girl Child
Introduction:
In 1990, Amartya Sen published a shocking article detailing the number of females in Asia and North Africa that were lost to foeticide, infanticide and general neglect (i.e. lack of adequate nutrition, healthcare, etc). He put that number at 100 million and coined the term “missing women” to describe these females lost to the strong cultural preference for sons. The numbers from India and China were particularly disturbing, and continue to be so.
The Cases of India and China
For various reasons, areas in India and China exhibit strong son preference. Social norms require sons to provide for parents when they are older, a sort of social security for old age. Daughters on the other hand are doubly burdensome, not only are they traditionally not allowed to provide for aging parents (both India and China ), but parents must also spend a lot of money (in India ) in dowry and other wedding expenses to marry their daughters off. In China , sons are especially precious because of the one child policy. To combat this dearth of women that is reaching crisis proportions both India and China have taken steps to reverse the trend:
- India and China have banned the use of ultrasound and amniocenteses to determine the sex of a fetus
- China now provides cash incentives, free schooling and better housing for families who have a girl
- India provides free schooling for girls in single-child homes
- China has relaxed its one-child policy if the first child is a girl
None of these incentives seems to have made any real impact on the numbers of girls. Real change will only come when the strong son preference and low social standing of women is eradicated from the culture of the Asian peoples, because as ideal family size falls in the region, other countries are likely to begin having sex ratios resembling India and China's.
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INDIA :
Clickable Sex Ratio Map of India
Son Preference and Sex Composition of Children: Evidence from India
While the effect of son preference on sex composition is undetectable at the national level, this paper provides empirical evidence from India that son preference has two pronounced and predictable effects on the sex composition of children ever born at the family level. First, data from India show that smaller families have a significantly higher proportion of sons than larger families. Second, couples that are socially and economically disadvantaged and couples from the northern region of India not only want a higher proportion of sons, but also attain a higher proportion of sons, if the effects of family size are controlled.
Female Demographic Disadvantage in India 1981-1991: Sex Selective Abortion, Female Infanticide and Excess Female Child Mortality
From the Introduction: We discuss how female birth and death trends are linked to social and economic development in India that have worsened the situation of women. We map the spread of masculine sex ratios at birth (SRB) from 1981 - 1991 in India, which indicate sex selective abortion.1 We also map the areas with female disadvantage in sex ratios of child mortality (from birth to age 5). We can thus see whether during development in India, excess female child mortality persists and pre-natal sex selection increases.
CHINA :
Shortage of Girls in China Today
Journal of Population Research
China has the most severe shortage of girls compared to boys of any country in the world today, as documented by China's surveys and censuses up to 2000. This article evaluates data on sex ratios in China since before the founding of the People's Republic, and shows that the relative dearth of girls has become more extreme during the last two decades, and that the problem is real and not merely due to undercounting of girls. Daughters are lost primarily through sex-selective abortion, secondly through excess female infant mortality, and thirdly through neglect or mistreatment of girls up to age three, in cities as well as rural areas.
Shortage of Girls in China Today: Causes, Consequences, International Comparisons And Solutions (PowerPoint Presentation)
This is a PowerPoint presentation on China 's missing women.
The Rest of ASIA :
Evidence Mounts for Sex-Selective Abortion in Asia
This report details the rise in sex-selective abortion and the subsequent skewed sex-ratios across Asia . Including countries with similar son preference to India and China , but dissimilar sex ratios.
Impact and Determinants of Sex Preference in Nepal
International Family Planning Perspectives
Despite evidenced gender bias in South Asia , the bias and subsequent sex preference in Nepal have received little attention. This study aims to look at what impact contraception has on gender bias and vice versa. Commonly used indicators of gender bias, such as sex ratio at birth and sex-specific immunization rates, do not suggest a high level of gender discrimination in Nepal . However, sex preference decreases contraceptive use by 24% and increases the total fertility rate by more than 6%. Women's contraceptive use, exposure to the media, parity, last birth interval, educational level and religion are linked to stopping childbearing after the birth of a boy, as is the ethnic makeup of the local area. The level of sex preference in Nepal is substantial. Sex preference is an important barrier to the increase of contraceptive use and decline of fertility in the country; its impact will be greater as desired family size declines.
III. Organizations
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