When a child is born, especially in Modern Western cultures, parents along with friends and family are usually ecstatic with the news of a new family member. In these cultures, a parent’s biggest wish for their child is usually that they come out strong and healthy. This reality that many grow up with is, unfortunately, not a universal phenomenon. Infanticide, which is defined by the BBC Ethics Panel as “the unlawful killing of very young children” is sadly found in both indigenous and sophisticated cultures around the world. Although this problem exists for both genders there is a terrible gap. This is known as ‘gendercide’ which is the gender-selective killing of a person of any age and more importantly as female infanticide which is the specific targeting of female babies in the hopes of eradication. Female infanticide is not only much more common than male infanticide but in some countries, particularly China and India, is likely to have serious consequences on the balance of the sexes in these countries (BBC). The main focus of this research paper is to find out the causes of female infanticide, particularly in China and India, what female infanticide means for a family and a country as a whole and also what solutions are there to help end this practice and if they are actually effective.
Before any focus can be brought to China and India, it is important to first look at the specific reasons normally cited for the need for female infanticide. Although many, including the BBC Ethics Panel, state that the reasons are usually more so cultural than religious, it is undeniable that religion itself also plays a role. One reason for female infanticide is an ‘anti-female bias’ (BBC). Many societies that pract...
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We cannot deny the imperfection of the world today; poverty, violence, lack of education, and the general overwhelming deficiency of basic daily necessities are among some of the most troubling issues on the agenda. By carefully selecting our critical lens, we can gather that there are many aspects of today’s issues where we can focus our attention and begin the quest for solutions to these pervasive problems. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009) utilize their book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide to emphasize the particular struggle of women in the world today and how by addressing three particular abuses of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence (including honor killings and mass rape), and maternal mortality, we may begin “unlocking an incipient women’s movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty” (p. xxii). However, we must first understand the difficulty of addressing such complex issues by a proposing a “one-size fits all” solution and take into consideration the varying feminist perspectives that currently contemplate the oppression of women in societies around the world. To be able to critically digest Kristof and WuDunn’s book we must explore the types of stories and evidence included and how they’re presented, and the generalized theories behind the insight and solutions regarding the women in need around the world. The authors alienate their audience by ignoring the complexity of building a singular feminist movement. Kristof and WuDunn’s book Half the Sky further contributes to the oppression of women because they objectify Third World women by portraying them as victims in need of outside rescue and suggest that an overarching solution...
Dena Davis in the 5th chapter of “Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children’s Futures” explores the global attitudes, policies, and morality towards determination of sex. She begins with presenting empirical evidence of some preferences held in countries such as India or China where there is a clear desire for male children. This inclination is so deeply held that mothers can be socially and physically harmed when, by pure biological chance, they fail to produce a male child. Davis and others allow sex selection in these cases, purely in the interest of harm reduction of mothers and their daughters born into such a situation. This example is contrasted with so-called “western” societies, where the preference
In the book, Half The Sky, author’s Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn bring to light the oppression of women in the developing world. Anecdotal stories, filled with sadness, anger and hope, collected after years of reporting, depict just a few examples of this global struggle for women. At the end of their book organizations are listed, in alphabetical order, in hopes of creating a starting point for people to further support women in developing countries. With so many organization doing great work to empower women it becomes difficult to decide where money should be distributed. As a grant manager it is important to take a closer look at each of the organizations and their work to better assess where the money should go. However, the
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One of the more extreme measures taken in an attempt to control population has been China's one-child policy. Population advocate Garet Hardin suggests the rest of the world adopt similar policies. This paper is to show a country's government acting on theories that Hardin is popular for and the ethical and environmental effects that it had on people and the land. Hardin fails to see the ethical problems laid out by governments that suppress peoples thoughts and beliefs.
This is the root of the cause of the gender stratification among males and females in China. Since women are viewed as unequal and baby girls are often unwanted by parents there is a sort of stigma that surrounds the Chinese woman in her society. They are not seen as equals to men and they are often socially unequal as well. The men have all the power and prestige in their society. Baby girls are often abandoned or killed so that they can have another child in the hopes that there is going to be a baby boy. We see this unequal access to power evident in the scene where the Chinese woman talks about how her husband threatened to send her away if she did not give him a baby boy. Gender stratification is a very large problem in China and has recently been decreased in level. New ideas about women’s right and worth have sprung up in China are spreading
Infanticide is a way to alter the reproductive stream before the child has the status of a real person, which is culturally defined (source). The deaths of weak, illegitimate, excess, deformed and unwanted infants are not defined as murder when the infants have not yet been born into the social world. Infanticide occurs cross-culturally for a multitude of causes. The reasons for infanticide can be summed up into three categories: biological (including the health of the child and twin stigmas), economical (relation to other children, women's workload, and available resources) and cultural (preferred gender, illegitimate children). This essay will examine cross-culturally the biological, economic and cultural factors for infanticide.
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One of the countless reason that this situation need to be addressed nationwide is because of the ignorant abortions. Since 1979 when the one-child policy started in China couples were more likely to get an abortion when having a girl. The reasoning behind this is that boys can carry the last name, which means that the family name will not become extinct unlike if you had a girl. Also, another reasoning is that some believe that boys will be able to provide more for a family. The Time World has recorded more than thirteen million abortions every year that were conducted in a hospital or clinic in China. Abortion is a massive dependent procedure that keeps the population of girls undersized compared to boys. According to Gwynn Guilford the gende...
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...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
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Female foeticide has become a disgraceful and shocking reality of this nation. For centuries, families across many parts of India have look upon the male child as the superlative of the two sexes. A male child is seen as a blessing in the Indian society and since years people have made lavish offerings and numerous prayers in hopes for getting a son. These beliefs continue to remain even though times have changed and now much of the inequality is reducing. The Indian society recognizes a insightful faith in every individual’s right to life and dignity but this rights are dishonored when it comes to women and children in this society. A difference in a society’s ideal values and its reality is defined as a social