I recently came across an article in The Washington Post that talks about the rise in sex-selective abortions in India. I found this article especially interesting because of specific discussions we have had in class regarding the different roles men and women play in society depending on the culture they are raised in. Like many other cultures, India emphasizes the importance of a male’s role in their family and in society.
In 1996, India banned the use of medical technology to determine the sex of fetuses in order to selectively abort girls. Even though this procedure is illegal, findings from a recent study suggest that it is actually becoming more common and widespread than in the past. Sex-selective abortion is primarily intended to increase a couple’s chance of having at least on boy. The results of this study give a great depiction of the growth of this practice and provide a better understanding of gender roles in a predominately male dominated culture such as India. Although India’s desire to have at least one boy in the family does not seem to be as severe as certain cultures like China, there is still an evident preference for a male child. It would be interesting to take this study and research the findings further. Some questions I would like to look at specifically:
What are the underlying societal pressures to have a male child in India?
How do these statistics compare to other predominately male cultures?
Why is there such an increase in sex-selective abortions right now rather than in previous years?
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