Female infanticide is a significant problem in parts of Asia – infanticide does occur in the West, but usually as isolated family tragedies with no underlying pattern or gender bias.
India
Female infanticide and female foeticide (the selective abortion of girls in the womb) are significant issues in India.
Female infanticide has been a problem for centuries, partly as a result of the patriarchal nature of Indian society.
Tackling the issue
Modern India has tried several ways to tackle the issue. One initiative in the state of Tamil Nadu was taken to attack the underlying economic problems.
Where parents had one or two daughters but no son, and either of the parents was willing to be sterilised, the government offered the parents money to help look after the children. This money was to be paid annually throughout the daughter’s education, followed by a lump sum on her twentieth birthday, either for use as a dowry or to fund further education.
China
Female infanticide has existed in China for a long time, and although the One Child per Family policy has added to the problem, it didn’t cause it.
The One Child Policy was introduced by the Chinese Government in 1979 with the intention of keeping the population within sustainable limits even in the face of natural disasters and poor harvests, and improving the quality of life for the Chinese population as a whole.
Under the policy, parents who have more than one child may have their wages reduced and be denied some social services.
Despite the egalitarian nature of Chinese society, many parents believe that having a son is a vital element of providing for their old age. Therefore in extreme cases, a baby is killed if it is not of the preferred sex, because of the pressure not to have more than one child.
Tackling the issue
The Chinese Government have acknowledged the problem and introduced laws to deal with it:
· Marriage law prohibits female infanticide.
· Women’s Protection Law prohibits infanticide and bans discrimination against women who choose to keep female babies.
· Maternal Health Care Law forbids the use of technological advances, such as ultra-sound machines, to establish the sex of foetuses, so as not to pre-determine the fate of female infants or encourage selective abortion.
