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Peer Reviewed

Title: 'Too many girls, too much dowry': son preference and daughter aversion in rural Tamil Nadu, India.
Author: Diamond-Smith N; Luke N; McGarvey S
Source: Culture, Health and Sexuality. 2008 Oct;10(7):697-708.
Abstract: The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has experienced a dramatic decline in fertility, accompanied by a trend of increased son preference. This paper reports on findings from qualitative interviews with women in rural villages about their fertility decision-making. Specifically addressed are the reasons behind increasing son preference and the consequences of this change. Findings suggest that daughter aversion, fuelled primarily by the perceived economic burden of daughters due to the proliferation of dowry, is playing a larger role in fertility decision-making than son preference. The desire for a son is often trumped by the worry over having many daughters. Women use various means of controlling the sex of their children, which in this study appear to be primarily female infanticide. It is important to distinguish between son preference and daughter aversion and to examine repercussions of low fertility within this setting.
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | KAP SURVEYS | RURAL POPULATION | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | DOWRY | SEX PREFERENCE | FERTILITY DECLINE | HOME ECONOMICS | PERCEPTION | INFANTICIDE | ATTITUDES | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Surveys | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Nuptiality | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Fertility Changes | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Microeconomic Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors
Document Number: 329318

Peer Reviewed

Title: Missing girls in India: Infanticide, feticide and made-to-order pregnancies? Insights from hospital-based sex-ratio-at-birth over the last century.
Author: Sahni M; Verma N; Narula D; Varghese RM; Sreenivas V
Source: PLoS One. 2008 May;3(5):e2224.
Abstract: There are 44 million women in India. Gender bias; neglect of girls, infanticides and feticides are responsible. The sec ratio at birth can be used to examine the influence of antenatal sex selection on the sex ratio. Records from 321,991 deliveries at one hospital over 11 decades were utilized. The middle year in each decade was taken as representative of the decade. Data from 33,524 deliveries were then analyzed. Data for each decade was combined with that of previous decades and compared to the data of subsequent decades to look for any change in the trend. Sex ratio in the second children against sex of the first child was studies separately. The mean sex ratio for the 110 years examined was 910 girls to 1000 boys (95% CI; 891 to 930). The sex ratio dropped significantly from 935 (CI: 905 to 967) before 1979, to 892 (CI: 868 to 918) after 1980 (P = 0.04). The sex ratio in the second child was significantly lower if the first child was a girl [716 (CI: 672 to 762)] (P less than 0.001). On the other hand, there was an excess of girls born to mothers whose first child was boy [1140 girls per 1000 boys (CI: 1072 TO 1212 P less than 0.0001)]. The sex ratio fell significantly after 1980 when ultra sound machines for antenatal sex determination became available. The sex ratio in second children if the first was a girl was even lower. Sex selective abortions after antenatal sex determination are thus implicated. However data on second children especially the excess of girls born to mothers who have a previous boy seen in the decade before the advent of antenatal ultra sound machines, suggests that other means of sex selection are also used. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | SEX RATIO | CHILD, FEMALE | INFANTICIDE | SEX DISCRIMINATION | BIRTH RECORDS | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Social Discrimination | Vital Statistics | Population Statistics | Research Methodology
Document Number: 326883

Title: Sex selection through traditional drugs in rural north India.
Author: Bandyopadhyay S; Singh AJ
Source: Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2007 Jan-Mar;32(1):[7] p.
Abstract: Repidly declining sex ratio has highlighted a strong son preference among many societies various methods are employed by people to get a son. The objective was to determine the use pattern of sex selection drugs (SSDs) in rural North India. An integrated qualitative and quantitative study was conducted in rural North India. A rapid population and hospital based survey of women in their early reproductive life was done in the study area to enlist the respondents. Few SSD samples were collected and analyzed. SSDs were freely available from grocers, chemist shops and specific people in villages. These contained Shivalingi (Bryonia Laciniosa) and Majuphal (Gtuercus infectoria). SSD use rate was 46% and 30% in community based and hospital based studies respectively. Use rate was significantly higher in women who did not have any son. Of the SSD samples and two individual ingredients analyzed by thin layer chromatography, 3 contained testosterone and one progesterone; one ingredient contained testosterone and the other natural steroids. Use of SSDs seems to be very common in North India. Implication of presence of steroids in SSDs needs further evaluation. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | DATA ANALYSIS | RURAL POPULATION | SONS | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX RATIO | DRUGS | SEX PRESELECTION | INFANTICIDE | ANABOLIC STEROIDS | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Research Methodology | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Treatment | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Crime | Social Problems | Androgens | Hormones | Endocrine System | Physiology | Biology
Document Number: 315290

Peer Reviewed

Title: An increase in the sex ratio of births to India -- born mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for sex -- selective abortion.
Author: Dubuc S; Coleman D
Source: Population and Development Review. 2007 Jun;33(2):383-400.
Abstract: Comparative studies of the sex ratio at birth between countries are limited, partly because physiological and/or genetic variation appears to exist between populations, and partly because methodological differences in data acquisition and birth registration practices may bias estimates of the ratio. Although many immigrants to Britain come from cultures with a high degree of son preference, no quantitative evidence has been reported that addresses the possibility of sex-selective abortion by immigrants from these countries. Using the robust data registration system for births in the United Kingdom by birthplace of mother, we compare sex ratios at birth between major categories of immigrant mothers and mothers born in the UK. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
UNITED KINGDOM | INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | COMPARATIVE STUDIES | MOTHERS | IMMIGRANTS | PLACE OF BIRTH | PARITY | BIRTH RECORDS | SEX RATIO | VITAL STATISTICS | INFANTICIDE | Europe, Western | Europe | Developed Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Studies | Research Methodology | Parents | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Migrants | Migration | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Population Characteristics | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Statistics | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Crime | Social Problems
Document Number: 317642

Title: Sex selection and fertility choices: analysis and policy.
Author: Ebenstein AY
Source: [Unpublished] 2007. Presented at the Population Association of America 2007 Annual Meeting, New York, New York, March 29-31, 2007. [53] p.
Abstract: High sex ratios in China and India have historically concerned researchers and their recent increase has alarmed policymakers worldwide. This paper identifies sex selection via infanticide and abortion as the principal explanation for the sex ratio distortion, and rules out competing explanations such as biology or differential mortality rates. Consistent with recent work, I find that the sex ratio of first-born births is close to the natural rate and steeply rising following the birth of low-order daughters, indicating that mothers are practicing pre-natal sex selection or immediate infanticide. Sex ratios are found to be higher among those anticipating lower fertility, such as those under stricter government fertility limits. I outline a model of a mother's fertility choice when she has access to a sex-selection technology and faces a mandated fertility limit. By exploiting variation in fines levied in China for unsanctioned births, I demonstrate that higher fine regimes discourage fertility butare associated with higher sex ratios among those who choose to have an additional child. I then estimate a structural model of parental preferences using China's 2000 census data that indicates that a son is worth 2.90 years of income more than a daughter, and the premium is highest among less educated mothers and rural families. I conclude with a set of simulations to model the effect on sex ratios and total fertility of a propose subsidy to families who fail to have a son, and find that such a policy would reduce sex ratios and lower overall fertility. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
CHINA | RESEARCH REPORT | THEORETICAL MODELS | MOTHERS | INFANT | RURAL POPULATION | SEX PREFERENCE | INFANTICIDE | ABORTION | DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY | SEX RATIO | CENSUS | CHILD WORTH | INCOME | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Research Methodology | Parents | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Crime | Social Problems | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Statistics | Microeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Socioeconomic Factors | Socioeconomic Status
Document Number: 317356 Notification

Title: Born into bastardy: The out-of-wedlock child in early victorian Cape Town.
Author: Malherbe VC
Source: Journal of Family History. 2007 Jan;32(1):21-44.
Abstract: "Born into Bastardy" contributes to research into family life and law as it evolved in South Africa's "mother city" from the seventeenth century. It traces the legal framework in which illegitimacy occurred and the experience of out-of-wedlock children when the father was absent or negligent in providing support. Histories of illegitimacy lead to considerations of the destruction of unwanted children by abortion and infanticide, or their abandonment to custodial care. The early years of Victoria's reign coincided with the emancipation of slaves throughout the British Empire. The fact that Cape Town had been home to slaves for whom marriage was proscribed until very recent times affects significantly this account of children born into bastardy. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
SOUTH AFRICA | HISTORICAL REVIEW | CHILDREN | UNMARRIED FATHERS | UNMARRIED MOTHERS | SLAVES | ILLEGITIMACY | CHILD SUPPORT | CHILD REARING | INFANTICIDE | ABORTION | Africa, Southern | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Developing Countries | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fathers | Parents | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Mothers | Social Problems | Behavior | Crime | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning
Document Number: 322499 Notification

Peer Reviewed

Title: Explaining son preference in rural India: The independent role of structural versus individual factors.
Author: Pande RP; Astone NM
Source: Population Research and Policy Review. 2007 Feb;26(1):1-29.
Abstract: Much research has been done on demographic manifestations of son preference, particularly girls' excess mortality; however, there is less research that focuses on son preference itself. This paper analyzes the determinants of son preference in rural India. We separate the independent, relative effects of characteristics of individual women and their households, village opportunities for women and village development, and social norms. We look at both socioeconomic and sociocultural variables. Finally, we examine whether predictors of son preference differ by desired family size. Our data come from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) India, 1992-1993. We use an ordered logit model, with dummy variables for state of residence. Our analysis shows that women's education, particularly at secondary and higher levels, is consistently and significantly associated with weaker son preference, regardless of desired family size. Once factors measuring social norms, such as marriage customs, caste and religion, are included, economic wealth and women's employment at household or village levels are not significant. Media access remains significant, suggesting an influence of "modernizing" ideas. Among social factors, caste and religion are associated with son preference but, once state of residence is controlled for, marriage patterns and cultivation patterns are insignificant. The strength and significance for son preference of many determinants differs by desired family size. Our results suggest that policy makers seeking to influence son preference need to identify and target different policy levers to women in different fertility and social contexts, rather than try an approach of one size that fits all. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | RURAL AREAS | SONS | SEX PREFERENCE | INFANTICIDE | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Geographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Crime | Social Problems | Economic Factors | Socioeconomic Status
Document Number: 313370

Title: Gender preference and awareness regarding sex determination among married women in slums of Chandigarh.
Author: Puri S; Bhatia V; Swami HM
Source: Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2007 Jan-Mar;32(1):[6] p.
Abstract: Female foeticide resulting in decline of child sex ratio has led to enforcement of Preconception and Prenatal diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) act since February 2003. Sex ratio, an important social indicator measuring extent of prevailing equity between males and females in society, is defined as no. of females /1000 males. Changes in sex ratio reflect underlying socioeconomic, cultural patterns of a society. As per 2001 census sex ratio in India is 933/1000 males, which continues to be significantly adverse towards women and is the lowest amongst 10 most populous countries in world. Russia tops the list in sex ratio (1140) followed by USA (1029). Most alarming is decrease in CSR (Child sex ratio 0-6). In Punjab the number was least (793) in 2001, followed by Haryana (820) and Chandigarh (845). Advances in technology and diagnostic facilities have opened up avenue for the girl haters leading to serious disturbances in sex ratio as a result of female foeticide. Desire for male child manifests so blatantly that parents have no qualms about repeated, closely spaced pregnancies, premature deaths and even terminating child before it is born. Birth of female child is perceived as a curse with economic and social liability. Therefore the present study was conducted among married women dwelling in slums and semi-rural area to find out the level of their awareness regarding sex determination and attitude towards gender. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | QUESTIONNAIRES | COUPLES | CURRENTLY MARRIED | WOMEN | SEX PRESELECTION | SEX DETERMINATION | REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES | KNOWLEDGE | AWARENESS | FAMILY SIZE, DESIRED | SEX RATIO | INFANTICIDE | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Marital Status | Nuptiality | Demographic Factors | Population | Reproduction | Genetic Techniques | Laboratory Examinations and Diagnoses | Examinations and Diagnoses | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Family Size | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Crime | Social Problems
Document Number: 315403

10.

Title: Reflections on the care delivered in a suspected case of infanticide.
Author: Scherer EA; Scherer ZA
Source: Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 2007 Jul-Aug;15(4):692-698.
Abstract: This study resulted from the experience of supervising a suspected infanticide case hospitalized at a psychiatric ward. We aimed to find support in scientific literature about infanticide, point out an interdisciplinary health team's affliction and uncertainties when faced with this kind of case and suggest strategies for dealing with these feelings and their possible consequences in dealing with this case. Professionals involved in this case observed their discomfort about the situation and difficulties caused by feelings of guilt about the child's death, whether intentional or not. Specialists suggests that the relation between psychiatry and the law should be facilitated by "demedicalizing" the crime, including socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, domestic violence, cultural norms etc. The team must try and learn from these mothers, overcoming their anger or repulsion with compassion and courage to understand infanticide. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
BRAZIL | RESEARCH REPORT | CLINICAL RESEARCH | CASE STUDIES | INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES | INFANT | POSTPARTUM WOMEN | INFANTICIDE | DEPRESSION | POSTPARTUM | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | ATTITUDES | PSYCHIATRY | CULTURE | RISK FACTORS | South America, Eastern | South America | Latin America | Americas | Developing Countries | Research Methodology | Studies | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Puerperium | Reproduction | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Mental Disorders | Diseases | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Biology
Document Number: 324306

11.

Title: Vulnerable daughters in a modernizing society: From 'son preference' to 'daughter discrimination' in rural south India.
Author: Sekher TV; Hatti N
Source: In: Watering the neighbour's garden: The growing demographic female deficit in Asia, edited by Isabelle Attane and Christophe Z. Guilmoto. Paris, France, Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography [CICRED], 2007. :295-323. "Chapters in this volume originate from papers presented at an international seminar organized by the authors in Singapore on 5-7 December 2005".
Abstract: The high masculine sex ratios of the Indian population have been a matter of concern for some time. Considerable attention has been paid to different dimensions of female deficit in India and persisting regional variations, since the numerical imbalances between the male and female sexes were pointed out in the 1970s. The results of 2001 Census have set off further debate on the issue and have narrowed down the focus to the changes in juvenile or child sex ratio.2 Changes in the sex ratio of children, aged 0-6 years, are better indicators of the status of the girl child in India, known to be more hostile to females in their early age. It also reflects the intra-household gender relations. Why millions of girls do not appear to be surviving in contemporary India, despite an overall improvement in development and many governmental measures to enhance the status of women? Why are female children still at risk and why is daughter discrimination on the increase despite progress in female literacy and participation of women in economic and political activities? Is there any significant shift from 'son preference' to 'daughter discrimination' at the household level? There is an urgent need to focus attention on increasing daughter-discrimination and aspects related to children differentiated by their gendered value. Human population exhibits definitive characteristics in terms of its sex composition. In most parts of the globe fewer females are born than boys; yet females typically survive longer than males and tend often to predominate in the population. However, this demographic attribute eludes India where males decisively out-number females and where women constitute less than half of the total population. Sex ratio is a direct indicator of women's status and welfare. The sex ratio changes are usually analyzed in a framework that underlies (relatively) greater deprivation and discrimination of females as opposed to males. The major determinants of numerical imbalances revolve around factors such as under enumeration of women, fertility, mortality and migration. Closely linked to the lower status of women, relative female under-enumeration may also be a cause for the sex composition from census data to appear more masculine. The census data should be interpreted with caution because improving the quality of age data on children can produce a spurious trend of falling sex ratios at certain childhood ages.Though such enumeration bias is relatively greater at certain ages, it does not depict the grim reality and warrants interventions that can generate better awareness about the need for accurate age reporting as well as recording. While the 2001 Indian census shows that the overall sex ratio has marginally improved from 108 men per 100 women to 107 during the last decade, the number of boys to girls in the youngest age group increased from 106 to 108 per 100. The regional disparities also appear to have increased: the northern states generally exhibit a worsening trend in sex ratio as compared to the southern states. The Census evidence suggests a clear cultural preference for male children, particularly in some North Indian states. The sharpest rise for the age group 0-6 years is observed in the northern states, particularly in Punjab (126) and in Haryana (122). The census lists 'sex-selective female abortions', 'female infanticide', and 'female neglect'-typically through giving girls less food and medical care than boys - as "important reasons commonly put forward" for this shocking anomaly. The new figures point out the use of new technologies to determine gender composition. Furthermore, as social norms are changing towards smaller families, the availability of and access to new technologies provide an easy way for parents to achieve such goals. Amartya Sen has called it a 'technological revolution of a reactionary kind'.
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | FOCUS GROUPS | RURAL POPULATION | SONS | DAUGHTERS | ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN | LOW FERTILITY POPULATION | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX DISCRIMINATION | CHILD SURVIVAL | SEX RATIO | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | PERCEPTION | INFANTICIDE | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Data Collection | Research Methodology | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Social Discrimination | Social Problems | Survivorship | Length of Life | Mortality | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Crime
Document Number: 308905

12.
Title: Sex ratio in India [letter]
Author: Bardia A; Anand K
Source: Lancet. 2006 May 27;367(9524):1727-1728.
Abstract: Prabhat Jha and colleagues report a low female-to-male sex ratio in India (759/1000) on the basis of a large national survey. They rule out other causes of this imbalance and conclude that it is likely to be due to prenatal sex determination by ultrasound followed by selective abortion of female fetuses (female feticide). A surrogate marker by which to establish this hypothesis could be the number of ultrasound machines used in different regions. Our team did a study based on a similar concept. We prospectively collected yearly information (1990--2001) on a population of about 80 000 under close demo graphic surveillance in northern India (Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, CRHSP). We found that the number of ultrasound machines available in a region roughly correlated with with the practice of female feticide. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS | INFANTICIDE | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX RATIO | RELIABILITY | DATA COLLECTION | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Demographic Surveys | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Measurement | Research Methodology
Document Number: 301899

13.
Title: Sex ratio in India [letter]
Author: Bhat M
Source: Lancet. 2006 May 27;367(9524):1725-1726.
Abstract: The estimates presented in the paper by Prabhat Jha and colleagues of the annual and cumulative number of aborted female fetuses in India has received wide coverage in the media. Unfortunately, there are serious problems with the data and methods. The survey Jha and colleagues used seems to have grossly undercounted the number of female births in 1997. The unadjusted data presented in table 1 of their paper show that the survey recorded 115 male births for every 100 female births. But the more reliable prospective data from the Sample Registration System (SRS) for the same sample area and year showed a sex ratio at birth of 111 (or 899 females for 1000 males). (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | SEX RATIO | DAUGHTERS | INFANTICIDE | DATA COLLECTION | ERROR SOURCES | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Research Methodology | Measurement
Document Number: 301896

14.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Missing girls: Evidence from some North Indian states.
Author: Bhat RL; Sharma N
Source: Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 2006 Sep-Dec;13(3):351-374.
Abstract: A study of the declining sex ratio in India particularly in the 0 to 6 age group raises one very pertinent question: Where have all the girls gone? The phenomenon has become particularly disturbing in some northern states of India. It appears that the growth in incomes and education of women, variables that would grant women an equal status in society, have actually worked in a reverse direction in states like Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Discrimination against females is engineered even before birth through female foeticide. It seems that education and incomes, which were supposed to result in the emancipation of women, have actually increased, not lowered, the bias in favour of the male child. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | CASE STUDIES | POPULATION STATISTICS | DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | CHILD, FEMALE | SEX RATIO | SEX PREFERENCE | ABORTION | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | INFANTICIDE | AGE DISTRIBUTION | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Studies | Research Methodology | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Socioeconomic Status | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors
Document Number: 308225 Notification

15.
Title: Sex ratio in India [letter]
Author: Bhopal R
Source: Lancet. 2006 May 27;367(9524):1728-1729.
Abstract: Prabhat Jha and colleagues and Shirith Sheth have masterfully exposed (again) the abhorrent bias against women in Indian society. Their work is missing, to my eye, three ingredients essential to social change--shame, indignation, and anger. As an Indian-born person raised in a traditional Punjabi family in Scotland I have been immersed in institutionalised sex bias. In a multiplicity of minor ways, I, along with other Indian men, have benefited at the expense of women--eg, by being fed first, by being served by my mother and female relatives (including sisters), by being sheltered from housework, and, most importantly of all, being celebrated more from birth--just for being male. These apparently minor biases form the foundation on which a monumental medically assisted mass murder is being executed. The missing millions of women should make all Indians hang their heads in shame until the problem is resolved. Women and men are equally responsible for this tragedy. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | WOMEN | CHILD, FEMALE | SEX DISCRIMINATION | BIAS | CULTURE | INFANTICIDE | HEALTH SERVICES | INEQUALITIES | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Demographic Factors | Population | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Social Discrimination | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Error Sources | Measurement | Research Methodology | Crime | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors
Document Number: 301900

16.

Peer Reviewed

Title: Skewed sex ratio of births in India may be the result of sex-selective abortion.
Author: Doskoch P
Source: International Family Planning Perspectives. 2006 Jun;32(2):[2] p..
Abstract: Although determining the sex of a fetus--and terminating the pregnancy based on the test results--is illegal in India, about half a million female fetuses in the country are aborted each year because of a cultural preference for sons, according to estimates from a national survey. As a result, in 1997, only 899 girls were born in India for every 1,000 boys, and the sex ratio was even more skewed among families who had had only girls. Moreover, the proportion of births that were female was particularly low among educated women, who may be best able to afford ultrasound to identify the sex of their fetus. The findings come from an analysis of data from the Special Fertility and Mortality Survey, a 1998 survey in which the Indian government asked a nationally representative sample of ever-married women about their fertility history. Respondents also provided demographic information. The survey did not ask about respondents' use of prenatal sex determination or whether they preferred children of a particular sex. The current analysis focused on 133,738 births that occurred in 1997, including 71,666 boys and 62,072 girls. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | SUMMARY REPORT | FERTILITY SURVEYS | DAUGHTERS | SEX PRESELECTION | CRIME | SEX RATIO | ABORTION | EDUCATIONAL STATUS | AGE FACTORS | INFANTICIDE | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Social Problems | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Socioeconomic Status | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors
Document Number: 309805 Notification

17.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Gender imbalance in infant mortality: a cross-national study of social structure and female infanticide.
Author: Fuse K; Crenshaw EM
Source: Social Science and Medicine. 2006;62:360-374.
Abstract: Sex differentials in infant mortality vary widely across nations. Because newborn girls are biologically advantaged in surviving to their first birthday, sex differentials in infant mortality typically arise from genetic factors that result in higher male infant mortality rates. Nonetheless, there are cases where mortality differentials arise from social or behavioral factors reflecting deliberate discrimination by adults in favor of boys over girls, resulting in atypical male to female infant mortality ratios. This cross-national study of 93 developed and developing countries uses such macrosocial theories as modernization theory, gender perspectives, human ecology, and sociobiology/evolutionary psychology to predict gender differentials in infant mortality. We find strong evidence for modernization theory, human ecology, and the evolutionary psychology of group process, but mixed evidence for gender perspectives. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES | DEVELOPED COUNTRIES | METHODOLOGICAL STUDIES | THEORETICAL MODELS | ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES | INFANT | INFANT MORTALITY | INFANTICIDE | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX DISCRIMINATION | GENDER ISSUES | WOMEN'S STATUS | Research Methodology | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Crime | Social Problems | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Social Discrimination | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors
Document Number: 295307

18.
Title: Sex ratio in India [letter]
Author: George SM
Source: Lancet. 2006 May 27;367(9524):1725.
Abstract: I am surprised to see a paper as fl awed as that of Prabhat Jha and colleagues in The Lancet. Their claim that 10 million female feticides have been committed in India is highly unlikely because the quality of the data is suspect and the interpretation incorrect. I have spent 20 years working on issues such as girl neglect, female infanticide, and sex selection. I have been involved with research, community intervention, public advocacy, litigation in the Supreme Court, and have lobbied successfully for legislation to improve girls' rights. If there was evidence that 10 million girls have been eliminated before birth, it would fuel public outrage against mass medical crimes. The study's findings are implausible. The birth order distribution of sex ratios at birth is contrary to the published research. No large study, in countries where fetal sexing has been extensive, such as China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, has reported similar figures. Sex ratio at birth (ie, boys per 100 girls) increases with increasing birth order or from the second birth onwards. The first-order sex ratio at birth is close to normal in published studies except Jha and colleagues'. In India, both National Family Health Surveys (NFHS-1 and NFHS-2) have reported nearly normal sex ratios at birth for the first born. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | SEX RATIO | INFANTICIDE | DAUGHTERS | RELIABILITY | MISINFORMATION | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Measurement | Research Methodology | Communication
Document Number: 301895

19.
Title: Sex ratio in India. Authors' reply [letter]
Author: Jha P; Kumar R; Dhingra N
Source: Lancet. 2006 May 27;367:1727.
Abstract: Our estimate of 0.5 million selective abortions is for 1997, and the estimate of 10 million refers to 1985--2005, not to the two decades before 1997. Overall sex ratios (female births per 1000 male births) have dropped further since 1997 according to the Sample Registration System (SRS). Sabu George highlights a striking increase in ultrasound machines since 1997. Thus, it is reasonable to use the 1997 annual estimate as an annual average for 1985--2005. Anil Grover and Rajesh Vijayvergiya have misread our paper. The SRS is nationally representative: national rates include all states and union territories (except Jammu and Kashmir and rural Nagaland), but we presented only the larger states in the figures and tables. Full details, including the simple survey instrument, are in the 2005 Government of India report. The proportions of missing second girls are similar among Hindus and Muslims. We do not understand the suggestion of a "quarter of a million [ultrasound] machines". Even if we halve George's estimate of active ultrasound machines to 17 000, less than one ultrasound examination per weekday is needed to reach the estimated 3.6 million self-reported ultrasound examinations of pregnant women in the second National Family Health Survey (NHFS-2). (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | DATA ANALYSIS | INFANTICIDE | DATA COLLECTION | SEX PREFERENCE | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Research Methodology | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior
Document Number: 301898

20.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Missing female births in India.
Author: Sheth SS
Source: Lancet. 2006 Jan 21;367(9506):185-186.
Abstract: Prenatal sex selection for non-medical reasons is a heated issue. Prenatal diagnosis involves an early invasive procedure, such as chorionic villus sampling, between 10 and 12 weeks of gestation or, in the later stages, ultrasonography or amniocentesis. In today's Lancet, Prabhat Jha and colleagues present a large study of 1.1 million Indian households to examine the causes of missing girls at birth. In the UK after a second public consultation, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority reaffirmed its position opposing sex selection for nonmedical reasons. In India, fetal sex determination and medical termination of pregnancy on the basis of fetal sex have been illegal since 1994. Under the law, prenatal diagnostic scans are allowed for the detection of genetic abnormalities, but sex determination tests are forbidden. Those caught are subject to a fine, imprisonment, and suspension of the medical practitioner's licence. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | EVALUATION | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | INFANT | CHILD, FEMALE | EXTENDED FAMILY | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX DETERMINATION | INFANTICIDE | FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Child | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Genetic Techniques | Laboratory Examinations and Diagnoses | Examinations and Diagnoses | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Crime | Social Problems
Document Number: 296761

21.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Family size control by infanticide in the great agrarian societies of Asia.
Author: Caldwell JC; Caldwell BK
Source: Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 2005 Spring;36(2):[26] p..
Abstract: An important issue in demography is whether there is evidence for premodern population control, especially control of family size. In an earlier paper we have argued that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Palaeolithic society consciously practised population control; its approximate long-term population equilibrium is probably adequately explained by non-infanticidal mortality balancing fertility (Caldwell and Caldwell, 2003a). Certainly babies were often killed when deformed or in times of crisis but not on a scale to constitute a demographically significant impact. This was not necessarily the case in the preindustrial agrarian societies of Asia where we have copious references to infanticide in governmental, legal, religious and literary texts (House of Commons, 1824; Hanley and Yamamura, 1977:233; Ho, 1959:58). Some demographers have identified a parallel between preindustrial Western European societies, where deferred or forgone marriage allowed a balance of fertility and mortality at moderate levels, and the situation in Japan, China and probably Korea where supposedly massive infanticide lowered the effective level of reproduction ensuring reduced death rates for those older than infancy, and less population pressure on the environment (Macfarlane, 1976:3009ff; Wrigley, 1978:135-136; Das Gupta, 1995:486ff). Wrigley argued that this could be the result of "unconscious rationality" which particularly characterized the period immediately before industrialization (called by others "proto-industrialization" and roughly describing the situation in East Asia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). We aim to explore recent research to see if it supports these descriptions. But first we must document why the West reacted so strongly to Asian infanticide and was so keen to detect and record its existence. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | JAPAN | CHINA | RESEARCH REPORT | HISTORICAL REVIEW | EVALUATION | FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD | INFANT | FAMILY SIZE, DESIRED | AGRICULTURE | INFANTICIDE | SEX PREFERENCE | INHERITANCE | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Asia, Eastern | Developed Countries | Sociocultural Factors | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Size | Family Characteristics | Macroeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Ownership | Socioeconomic Factors | Demography | Social Sciences | Science
Document Number: 299255

22.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Explaining Asia's "missing women": a new look at the data.
Author: Das Gupta M
Source: Population and Development Review. 2005 Sep;31(3):529-535.
Abstract: THE FACT THAT millions of women are �missing� in East Asia and South Asia has received attention from scholars, policymakers, and governments because of its profound human and social implications. Both India and China have banned the use of sex-selective technologies. Officials in both countries have spoken out against female infanticide, and both countries seek in various ways to encourage parents to view daughters as no less valuable than sons. Even a century ago, British colonial authorities in India were trying to redress the problem by imposing collective punishment on villages with highly imbalanced sex ratios among children, while in China clans were offering incentives to parents to raise daughters. The assumption underlying such policies is that a strong cultural preference for sons is driving the imbalance in sex ratios. The literature relates son preference to a variety of social and economic factors in these regions, which interact to make females less valuable to their families: people are pressured to bear sons while limiting the number of daughters in order to conserve scarce household resources. Households have variously resorted to female infanticide and postnatal withholding of health care; and since the mid-1980s, when technology permitting fairly low-cost determination of the sex of fetuses became available, there has been a shift toward prenatal sex selection by means of induced abortion. And because cases of female infanticide are often not reported as live births, they can be hard to distinguish from the consequences of prenatal sex selection in the reported sex ratio of births. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
ASIA, EASTERN | ASIA, SOUTHERN | CHINA | INDIA | THEORETICAL STUDIES | DATA ANALYSIS | CHILD, FEMALE | SEX PRESELECTION | INFANTICIDE | SEX RATIO | CULTURE | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | GENDER ISSUES | BIOLOGY | Developing Countries | Asia | Research Methodology | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Crime | Social Problems | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Economic Factors
Document Number: 292317

23.

Title: Awareness of rural couples about sex-ratio.
Author: Ghosh EA; Gole R; Balda S
Source: Journal of Human Ecology. 2005;18(2):167-168.
Abstract: There is growing imbalance in the male-female ratio. Sex-ratio is a three tier phenomenon. First, it means the number of females per 1000 males in respect to the total population. Secondly, sex-ratio at birth indicates the number of female children born per 1000 males children. Thirdly sex-ratio in the lowest age group among children from birth to six years. As per 2001 census, the overall sex-ratio of India is 933 females per 1000 males which is less than the overall international sex-ratio of 986 females per 1000 males. Hence it was thought relevant to study awareness of rural couples on these issues. The study was conducted by selecting two villages Palpur and Ravanika from two blocks of district Allahabad from Uttar Pradesh by random selection. From each village a sample of 50 couples under the age of 45 years were randomly selected to make a total sample size of 100 couples. Awareness about sex-ratio, quite a large number of males (64%) and females (74%) had no knowledge about it. Females foeticide was cited by respondents (41% male and 36% females) as the main reasons for the imbalanced sex-ratio. Eighty one per cent males and 65 per cent females felt that the major problem due to imbalanced sex-ratio would be non-availability of brides. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | RURAL POPULATION | COUPLES | CHILD, FEMALE | SEX RATIO | INFANTICIDE | SEX PREFERENCE | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior
Document Number: 304680

24.
Title: Sex selective abortion, hidden girls, or infanticide? Explaining the female deficit in a Chinese county.
Author: Lavely W
Source: [Unpublished] 2005. Presented at the CEPED-CICRED-INED Seminar on Female Deficit in Asia: Trends and Perspectives, Singapore, December 5-7, 2005. 14 p.
Abstract: As sex ratios have risen in China over the past 25 years, uncertainty has persisted about the proximate mechanisms producing the rise. Sex-selective abortion, girls alive but hidden in the population, and sex-selective infanticide have all been advanced as explanations, but the precise mix of these mechanisms is not known. Convincing explanations are elusive because the behaviors involved are unobserved, performed out of view in family homes or quietly in clinics, and omitted from reports by local officials. The instrumentalities that produce the female deficit are important because they delimit policy choices. For example, efforts to curb the rise in sex ratios by outlawing sex-selective abortion will be ineffective and counter-productive if infanticide is a readily available substitute. Given the sensitive nature of the problem, no single source of data can produce a complete or credible picture. This study triangulates the problem using a combination of data sources from one peripheral rural county in eastern Yunnan Province, a county with unusually high child sex ratios. The data sources include qualitative research materials collected in 1993 and 1994 in the form of interviews with local officials, health workers, and citizens; local documentary evidence; data from a county-wide probability sample of women (N=1,062) who bore children in the years 1991-93; and county census tabulations from 1990 and 2000. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
CHINA | SUMMARY REPORT | DAUGHTERS | INFANTICIDE | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX RATIO | ABORTION | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES | SEX PRESELECTION | Developing Countries | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Crime | Social Problems | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Economic Factors | Reproduction
Document Number: 314650 Notification

25.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Vanishing female foetuses and its consequences in India.
Author: Mondal A; Banerjee P; Gupta A
Source: Journal of the Indian Medical Association. 2005 May;103(5):[3] p..
Abstract: A particular manifestation of continuing gender inequality and its accentuation is the phenomenon of declining sex ratios, measured as the number of females for 1000 males in the population. Technologies like amniocentesis and ultrasound used in most parts of the world largely for detecting foetal abnormalities are used in large parts of the Indian sub-continent for determining the sex of the foetus so that the mother can have an abortion if the foetus in the womb happens to be a female. The practice of female infanticide in India -- first documented by the British in the late 18th century chiefly among upper castes in North India is still rampant in many parts of the country today. The British outlawed infanticide in 1870, and a century later, educated Indians believed that the practice, like "Sati", had all but died out. The assumption was shattered in June, 1986, when "India Today" published an explosive cover story, "Born to Die", which estimated that 6000 female babies had been poisoned to death in the preceeding decade in the district surrounding the town of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The magazine reported that the practice of female infanticide was prevalent there among the members of poor sub-caste called "Kallars" who fed their infant daughters the lethal oleander berries growing in the fields and there was hardly a "Kallar" family in which a female baby has not been murdered. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | FETUS | CHILD, FEMALE | SEX FACTORS | INFANTICIDE | INEQUALITIES | SEX RATIO | SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Pregnancy | Reproduction | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Crime | Social Problems | Sociocultural Factors | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Sex Distribution
Document Number: 307483

26.

Peer Reviewed

Title: Shortage of girls in China today.
Author: Banister J
Source: Journal of Population Research. 2004 May;:[37] p..
Abstract: 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. Until recently, the dearth of girls was confined to second or higher-order births, but now couples in some provinces are using sex-selective abortions for first births. Maps show the geographical concentration of life-threatening discrimination against girls and its spread over time. Son preference, low fertility and technology combine to cause the loss of daughters in China today, and compulsory family planning and the one-child policy exacerbate the problem. The discussion includes what the People's Republic of China has done to ameliorate life-threatening discrimination against girls and what further steps might be taken to improve the situation. (author's)
Language: English
Keywords:
CHINA | CENSUS | DAUGHTERS | SEX RATIO | SEX PREFERENCE | SEX PRESELECTION | INFANTICIDE | DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY | EXCESS MORTALITY | SEX DISCRIMINATION | Developing Countries | Asia, Eastern | Asia | Population Statistics | Research Methodology | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Crime | Social Problems | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Social Discrimination
Document Number: 280128

27.

Title: India: the missing girl child.
Source: Population 2005. 2003 Dec;5(4):11.
Abstract: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently released a booklet that tracks the declining child sex ratio and the �missing girl� child in the age group 0 to 6 in India. According to the published document, the national average fell to 927 girls per 1000 boys in 2001 from 945 per 1000 in 1991. In addition, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh all had a child sex ratio of less than 800 girls for every 1000 boys. Reasons for the decline, UNFPA claims, have been the elimination of girls by sex-selective abortions and infanticide. The report states that 70 districts in 16 states and Union Territories recorded more than a 50-point decline in the child sex ratio in the last decade. �The ratio stands at a mere 770 in Kurukshetra district of Haryana, 814 in Ahmedabad and 845 in the south west district in Delhi, which are among the most prosperous regions in the country,� says the UNFPA report. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CRITIQUE | CHILD, FEMALE | PARENTS | SEX RATIO | SEX PRESELECTION | INFANTICIDE | ABORTION | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Child | Youth | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Crime | Social Problems | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning
Document Number: 286830 Notification

28.

30.
Peer Reviewed

Title: Prenatal sex determination female fooeticide and infanticide.
Author: Parvez T
Source: JK-Practitioner. 2003 Jul-Sep;10(3):229-230.
Abstract: Prenatal sex determination can be done earliest by 10-l1 weeks of Gestational age Here placental tissue sample is taken ultrasound guided known as chrionic villus sampling and sent for chromosomal analysis to genetic laboratories. It carries 0.8% risk of miscarriage. It costs between Rs. 1000-1500 with 95-100% accuracy. Amniocentesis started in 1974 for foetal birth defects, sex linked, genetic and chromosomal disorders. It was used widely for chromosomal analysis and sex determination at 15-16 weeks of Gestational age in genetic laboratories. Risk of miscarriage 0.5%. Ultrasound gives sex details at 16-18 weeks by experts, Most specific at 18-20 weeks of gestational age. Besides this, foetal anomallies and diseases are ruled out at this stage. (excerpt)
Language: English
Keywords:
INDIA | CHINA | PAKISTAN | BANGLADESH | CRITIQUE | SEX DETERMINATION | ULTRASONICS | AMNIOCENTESIS | INFANTICIDE | FETAL DEATH | SEX PRESELECTION | STATISTICS | PREVENTION AND CONTROL | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Asia, Eastern | Genetic Techniques | Laboratory Examinations and Diagnoses | Examinations and Diagnoses | Crime | Social Problems | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Reproductive Technologies | Reproduction | Research Methodology | Diseases
Document Number: 183507


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