GENDERCIDE IN CHINA AND NORTH INDIA

Gendercide in China and North India

Gendercide in China and North India

Introduction

The term gendercide refers to the practice of letting a child die by not taking care of him or her or killing a child, because of the gender of the baby. Feticide or sex-selective abortion refers to a specific technique of gendercide in which a fetus is aborted after determining, usually by the amniocentesis procedure or ultrasound, that the fetus has an unwanted or undesired gender. Gendercide, in any shape or manner, is discouraged by researchers as “uncivilized” or “morally deplorable,” and a grim example of violence against children (Jones, 2004). The World Bank recently reported that nearly 4 million women under 60 and girls still go "missing" each year due to pre-birth discrimination (95% in China and India) or excess mortality after birth (mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China) (Thompson, 2011). In total, over two million women and girls go missing in India and China every year. In this regard, this paper will discuss gendercide in China and North India, and its causes and potential impacts.

Discuss

The prevalence of sex-selective feticide and infanticide, directed mainly at females, is not necessarily based on an individual's or particular family's decision. Instead, it is a social phenomenon rationalized through traditions and socio cultural values. Historical evidence of these practices, including selective neglect of female children, has been found in cultures around the globe. Many patriarchal societies have historically tended to recognize that raising daughters is less financially beneficial than raising sons. These societies have assumed that sons will provide their parents a sense of security and continuation of the family lineage. Through this lens, daughters are viewed more as liabilities than assets.

Anthropologists refer to many examples of female infanticide in the pre-Christian Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian cultures. Countries like China, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal have continued this traditional practice. The governments in these countries have declared these practices illegal. However, the enforcement of abortion laws based on fetus determination has generally been poor in all these countries (Thompson, 2011). For example, media reports from all parts of India claim that female feticide cases have totaled millions during the past several years and are on the rise even among the educated middle-class people due to an increasing awareness of overpopulation and a high cost of raising children.

There are numerous official as well as unofficial reports in China ...