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Baby Girls Still Victims in the Developing World

We’ve all seen Al Gore’s scary graph of global population growth, but a while ago I stumbled across an article in the Economist which provided some equally-frightening stats. In several countries, the number of baby boys being born now drastically outweighs the number of girls – a tragic trend with tragic results.

The problem really came to light after the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) reported earlier this year that within a decade, the discrepancy will surmount to an entire fifth of the Chinese male population who will be unable to find wives.

Scientists have long known that slightly greater numbers of boys are born naturally to balance the effect of infant death, which girls are less susceptible to. However, the figures that are now appearing in China, India and some Balkan countries are impossible in nature. According to the CASS study, 123 boys are now born in China for every 100 girls, and the number is as high as 130 in some regions. The natural range is typically between 103 to 106 boys for every 100 girls.

This, experts say, is what happens when a society progresses faster scientifically than it does socially. In parts of the world, particularly rural communities where labour is integral to a successful family business, girls are just not as welcome into homes as boys. The appearance of ultrasound technology in societies where girls are considered inferior has led to millions of sex-selective abortions.

The problem is compounded in China by the “One Child Policy,” the population growth law that dictates how many children urban couples can legally have. The controversial law varies by region, but everywhere it is contributing to increased rates of female infanticide – the killing of baby girls – and the other social problems that arise down the road.

Experts, for example, note that with a greater population of unmarried men, loose from family responsibility and on the prowl for women, come more cases of human trafficking, rape, and abduction. Already, the WHO lists the female suicide rate in China as one of the highest in the world.

Science is not at the heart of the issue here; the problem is social. And the best solution wouldn’t be to outlaw abortion but potentially instead to implement programs in these countries that promote gender-equality and the rights of women. Only when women have an equal role in their societies will this cycle of violence and “gendercide,” as the Economist calls it, finally be curbed.