The impact of Child Preference in the world today

Women’s plight and their relegated status is not a phenomenon that’s on its own. The counterpart is male preference. Although in some cultures having daughters could be more costly due to the fact that dowry is paid when giving a daughter away, one can definitely affirm that the birth of baby boys is always universally celebrated with gun salutes, ululations or such other festivities the world over. In Ethiopia the songs about “ ye zare amete ye mamush enate” or the saying “wond lijj kene kachilu” are not as innocent as they seem to be. Like women should not be seen as secondary citizens, baby girls should be as welcome at birth as boys in this world of ours.

We should ask ourselves and incite others as well when it comes to parenthood. If they are not aware of their rights women sometimes carry out build and nurture practices that are against their own interest. We should raise our children in view of a better world; we should always make sure of giving equal opportunity without bias. We should ask ourselves for what kind of relationship we want to prepare our children; if and when the possibility is there it’s only natural to want to give the best.

When one affirms that this is a man’s world it’s not only about the philosophy of life or the theorized relegation of women to a lower status. In everyday life, where the beliefs are translated into reality, the world expects more from men when it comes to serious, important and promising ventures. Although in our day one cannot say man is the bread winner, still in our arts of the world young girls are often discouraged from fulfilling their dreams. Therefore be it basic education, projects or even work, young boys are encouraged and support ed better than young girls.

A few months ago, one bright morning in my part of the world, I sauntered in one of the overcrowded chat rooms. It’s one of those who have large audiences but too much discussion disorder, lack of respect and complete disregard to attendants. However that eventful day I fell on a dialogue between two women who were discussing women’s rights and growing up as a woman in Ethiopia . I cannot really say how it all started, but more and more women joined in, and the administrator who happened to be a woman protected the discussion.

These ladies were reminiscing about their childhood days and how all the housework was done by young girls whereas no one bothered young boys. One of them asked if there was any girl who hadn’t washed the socks of their brothers both young and old. Make up the beds, clean their rooms etc. Another one introduced the subject of girls being raised as boys and how she became a tomboy (wendawend) because her father had desired to beget a son desperately, finally resorted in talking to her as if she was a boy and dressing her up the same way !! I listened in into a very interesting debate about women’s rights and how traditional practices needed to be changed. I was positively surprised because I thought I was within a very conservative context but ended up discovering very interesting women indeed!!

Child preference and bias, growing up according to the prevailing tradition are all universal realities that say a lot about how this is still a man’s world. Wanting to give birth to a baby boy mostly and saying it in so many ways is a very common thing. Some parents would like to have one of each, a boy and a girl if possible, without falling into the bias. Others will go on having more children in search of the elusive baby boy that might never show up. In some cultures this is pushed to extremes. In India infanticide has been practiced for ages and the stifling of baby girls or practicing selected abortion have become hot issues of debate. A lot of literature has been produced in defense of baby girls and a movie that shows a village full of men in efforts to bring awareness of the looming danger. In parts of India it is the girl’s family that has to pay the dowry when giving the bride away. So the killing of baby girls is related to poverty, socially isolated groups or unwed young mothers.

The reasons are basically the same in China because a girl is given away to other families, whereas the boy will not only perpetuate the name but will take care of ancestral worship and care. These cultural ancestral shortcomings were rectified in the 50’s and 60’s along with other harmful practices endured by women. However this basic problem became even more twisted when in their efforts for controlling population explosion, Chinese officials passed a law that forbade the birth of more than one child. This gave a boost to the already well known practice of selected infanticide and parents aborting baby girls selectively or getting rid of them at birth whichever way they could.

“What accounts for China 's extraordinary new patterns in sex ratio at birth? Closer examination suggests the outcome can be explained as a consequence of a collision between three factors: 1) strong and enduring cultural preference for sons, 2) low or sub-replacement fertility, and 3) the advent of widespread technology for prenatal sex determination and gender-based abortion.” Nicholas Eberstadt’s "Population and Power in Asia ," published in the journal Policy Review .

http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.19924/pub_detail.asp

Scientists in China and India are getting worried of the imbalance created in the ratio between girls and boys in their respective populations. What was seen as an injustice is fast becoming a national disaster because millions of men are going to be stranded for lack of a partner for companionship or even procreation for that matter!

“According to a recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India ’s population as a result of systematic gender discrimination in India . In most countries in the world, there are approximately 105 female births for every 100 males.”

http://www.indianchild.com/abortion_infanticide_foeticide_india.htm

These imbalances will not only have an impact that creates a marriage squeeze in both countries, it will incite those who abuse women through human marketing, prostitution and other illicit trades. On the general aspect it attests to the fact that negative attitudes towards women and young girls need to be combated both on national local levels and in the international arena.

GG

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