When you think of low points in society, especially in the olden times and traditional practices, you stumble upon issues of gender inequality, economic instability, horrid crime rates and even times when fanny packs were an acceptable and legitimate trend. Though we have progressed in much of these realms, it’s a sad truth that gender inequality, particularly in Asian countries, has barely dissipated. There are nearly 160 million fewer women than there are men in Asia. In the last few decades, this disparity can ironically be pointed to one technological advancement: Ultrasounds.
In the U.S., it’s a common and accepted practice to find out the sex of the baby before its birth. In some Asian countries, however, traditions instilled with placing men on higher ground than women have transformed a technological blessing into a morbid method of filtering out the women from society. With roughly 500,000 female fetuses aborted each year in India and about 163 boys born per 100 girls in some Chinese cities (the U.S. is 105 boys per 100 girls), this gendercide has upheld a longstanding, intolerable mentality.
Why is this happening?
- In some Indian cultures, girls are more expensive to raise than boys. Though outlawed, some traditions place economic restrictions like expensive dowries, which leaves poor families less of an incentive to raise girls. In these cultures, when women get married they leave their families and require dowries, where conversely men will receive dowries and provide for their parents after marriage.
- Old institutions value men more.
- With populations in India and China so high, governments have given families incentives to have fewer children. In turn, families want the assurance that one of those kids will be a boy.
What’s being done to prevent this?
- The government has regulated the use of ultrasounds in those countries, so that you can only use it to prevent birth defects. This hasn’t been very successful, however, and consequently has created an additional market for doctors who travel to areas and offer ultrasounds and sex-selection abortions. The fine for getting caught (which they rarely do) is insignificant and not a deterrent.
Are there consequences of having too many men?
- More sex trafficking
- More HIV/AIDs
- Increased crime rates
- More men growing old without wives or families
Sources
Featured Photo: http://www.pregnancycheck.com/pregnancy-ultrasound.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/09/gender-inequality
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/16822-u-n-say-ultrasounds-worsen-asia-women-shortage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901219.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0113/p01s04-wosc.html/%28page%29/2
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/world/ultrasound-skews-india-s-birth-ratio.html
http://www.bradenton.com/2011/09/20/3509767/research-and-markets-increasing.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/04/18/ultrasound-fuels-indias-preference-for-boys/
http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/08/23/the-law-of-unintended-consequences/