China and India Losing Gender Balance Due to Sex-Selective Abortions
- Author Dezan Shira
- Published May 30, 2011
- Word count 460
A preference for boys and the availability of ultrasounds for baby sex recognition in China and India is leading to an increasingly serious gender imbalance in these countries, which may bring about a series of other social concerns in the long term.
A recent analysis in Canadian Medical Association Journal warns that the male to female ratio in a majority of areas in China and India is likely to exceed the normal 105:100 male to female sex ratio at birth (SRB) by 10 percent to 20 percent in the next 20 years. The analysis pointed out that with the introduction of sonogram technology, the SRB grew to 130:100 in some Chinese provinces in 1992. Data also show a high 125:100 gender disparity in North Indian regions like Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat.
While China’s one-child policy is widely criticized by international community for violating human rights and motivating women to have abortions to spare opportunities for having boys, India, the country without such a policy, does not seem to do a good job of stopping women from going to sex-selective abortions. The pattern analysis shows that in both China and India people tend to make sure their second or third baby is a boy if their first or second is a girl.
There are concerns over possible social consequences due to the gender imbalance, such as the excess men having difficulty getting married. Experts worry that those who fail to find wives may become psychologically vulnerable, leading to increasing violence and crime.
The imbalance will even have an impact on China and India’s economic growth pattern, according to economists. Some point out that as parents feel obligated to earn more social status for their sons, the families with sons tend to have a higher saving rate. The preference for boys may have even influenced families’ consumption patterns and facilitated a boom in some industries such as the property market in China. Many families with boys feel it is highly necessary to buy a house, even though housing prices in many areas have marched far above reasonable or affordable levels.
Policy-makers in China and India are making attempts to reduce the imbalance, such as forbidding fetal sex determination. However, people still have a number of ways to find out their baby’s gender before birth. The most essential and helpful method would be strengthening education and reducing the preference for boys that is deep in the culture.
Although changes in attitudes towards gender have been taking place in the past 10 years, the high SRB imbalance in the 1990s will still lead to at least a two-decade long overall gender imbalance in China and India. The analysis predicts that people in the two countries will have to wait for several decades to see a normal gender ratio again.
This article was written for 2point6billion.com, which was established by Chris Devonshire-Ellis. Chris is also the founder of China business consulting firm, Dezan Shira & Associates.
Article source: https://articlebiz.comRate article
Article comments
There are no posted comments.
Related articles
- Why is SEO for businesses on the Wirral important
- Proton Mail In Vivaldi Email
- Email Deployment
- Search Engine Marketing: Unleashing Its Power for Your Business
- Squarespace email campaigns vs Mailchimp
- Squarespace email campaigns vs Mailchimp
- Commercial Cleaning Services in Auckland: A Deep Dive into Angel Cleaning
- What is CCTLD?
- Why Women of Color Need to Support Kamala Harris
- Email Extractor from CSV
- How to download Gmail email content into a CSV file.
- Is email marketing legit?
- How SEO Can Improve Your Business?
- Mitsubishi Electric proves heat pump compatibility with microbore pipework
- What makes the city of Melbourne such a unique place?
- What is the role of the Royal Society of London?
- Festive Decor with a Global Twist
- Mixer of Styles, The Boho Mid Century Farmhouse
- Explore Cape Town: Group Cape Town Tours With a Private Shuttle
- Exploring Airbnb Cleaning Service in Auckland: History, Trends, and Future Implications
- Chauffeur Car and Driver Hire Services in Cape Town
- Explore the Best Cape Town City Private Tours
- How I Watched My Manifestations Unfold in Realtime Through Tarot
- Your Go-To Lighting Store in Brampton
- Halloween makeup ideas 2024
- The two doctors who made a difference in preventing polio
- Your Guide to Cape Town Airport Transfers
- What lessons were learnt from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?
- Exclusive Interview with Maddox Blackstone
- The Dark Reality of Forced Prison Labor: Why I Stand Behind Proposition 6