Now India’s population has grown up very quickly. They have too many people in their country. “With 1,130,000,000 people, India is currently the world’s second largest country” (Rosenberg, 2007, para.1). The government does not have any control of population. People want more boys than girls. They think just a boy can keep the family tree and take care of them. So, they bear a lot of boys. However, in one family, they have more boys than girls. “The consequence of female infanticide and, more recently, abortion is India’s awkwardly skewed gender ratio, among the most imbalanced in the world. The ratio among children up to the age of 6 was 962 girls per 1,000 boys in 1981, but 20 years later the inequity was actually worse: 927 girls per 1,000 boys” (Girish, 2005, para.3). Also, India’s government cannot control about how many they bear. The government just makes them bear children again and again. The government does not care about number of children in one family. If government does not control the number of people, they might face a big problem, such as loss of living area or no more jobs for people. People cannot decide babies’ gender. But they still bear a lot of children. It can make women marry later and it also leads to social unrest. “The French demographer Christophe Guilmoto warned that future deficits of adult women would affect the stability of the entire marriage system and lead to social unrest where men were likely to be violent against women” (Kontominas, 2007, para.2).
Now in India gender imbalance is very serious. They have more boys than girls, because they always bear boys. They want a boy. They think girls cannot protect them when they are old. In their mind, just a boy can help them. “The oleander plant yields a bright, pleasant flower, but also a milky sap that, if ingested, can be a deadly poison. It’s one of the methods families use to kill newborn girls in the Salem District of Tamil Nadu, a part of India notorious for female infanticide” (Girish, 2005, para.1). They think that when a girl grows up, she might marry and live with her husband. So, in their mind they really want to bear a boy. They do not make rules about gender imbalance. If they still stubbornly insist on bearing a baby, it might make it hard for men to marry; it might make it hard for parents to care for them, and it might cause a lack of jobs for males.
First, if people still stubbornly insist on bearing babies, it might make it hard for men marry. In India, there are more men than women. They want boys. So, some rich people use technology to know baby’s gender, but humans cannot decide it. “Infanticide is illegal in India, and laws are also in place to stop sex-selective abortions. But in some places, national rules don’t hold enough sway to overcome local religious and social customs-which remain biased in favor of sons over daughters” (Girish, 2005, para.4). For example, in the world there are 40 girls and 60 boys out of every hundred. When they grow up, they might get married. However, in this group there might be 10 boys who cannot get married, because there are 20 more males than females. In most countries, they just can get married with one person. How about the other twenty people; who can get married to them? If men cannot get married with women, it might cause social confusion. In the future, women could get married with two or more men. Male power might decrease in society. It is not fair. It is just because of parents’ avarice, their son cannot get married. It might destroy their lifetime.
Second, if in the world there are more men, it might make it very hard for parents to care for them. For example, they just have boys. When they grow up, they should get married. His parents should give him money to prepare for the marriage. If they have 5 sons, they should give their 5 sons the same money. It is a hard thing for a poor family. “Faced with such pressure, many families, rich and poor alike, are turning to prenatal selection to ensure that they receive a son” (Baldauf, 2006, para.5). Not only does marriage require money, but also when they are young boys, they should go to school. It also requires a lot of money. They need school fees and they need money to buy food and clothes. It is very a difficult thing for a poor family. Also, parents should take care of them in many ways. However, in their deep mind they think they should have sons. “There’s more money here now, and more education. But it’s still in the back of everyone’s mind: ‘I must have a male child’” (Sullivan, 2008, para.8). They think that when a boy grows up, he will get married. He still can live with his parents. His wife can protect his parents. Why can they bear boys? Because when technologies developed fast, people could use ultrasound to make sure of their baby’s gender. It can make parents be satisfied about their children.
Finally, if they have too many males, there might be no more jobs for males. Gender imbalance might affect future society. “Bioethicists say they are concerned the preference of one sex over the other, in this case boys over girls, will create a future imbalance of population and power” (Gajilan, 2005, para.21). For example, there are a lot of men in this world. The ratio of successful to total applicants for a job might be very high. Most parents might give their son the best education. So, their parents might have high expectation for them. When they go to a company to get a job, there will be many people. They should compete for just one position. It is too hard. They must compete with people of the same sex and of the different sex. Now women also take high education. Women are very smart. Now men want to win women; it is a very difficult thing. The extreme case, men are unable to find a wife. Gender imbalance might give humans a lot of discomfort. Most Asian people think boys are more important than girls, but it is exactly wrong. They think just a boy can help them and keep the family tree. In some Asian countries, in people’s deep mind they think a woman is a burden economically and socially (Kontominas, 2007, para.6). Now women can do everything men do. Women also have power in this society. In some countries, they have female presidents. In the world, there are many famous females people. For example, in America, there are many female stars. They have a lot of money. They can affect other people by their actions. People want to bear a boy, but they bear girls. Parents might bear more and more. They will stop bearing after they bear a boy. It is a big problem. It caused overpopulation. The overpopulation might cause many problems. If the population increased, it will be hard for humans to live, because there might be no more places people can live. Also, overpopulation might bring food war. Overpopulation caused children to be unable to go to school. If in a family, there are too many children, some of them cannot go to school. It also makes environmental pollution. They should change their attitude. The society is most important process to tell people what is true.
In conclusion, in many Asian countries, they want to bear boys because of their tradition. In their deep mind, they think boys are more useful than girls. So, they use high technology to know what their baby’s gender is. However, if there are a lot of males, it might make it hard for men to marry, it might make it hard for parents to care for them, and there might be no more jobs for males. It will be a problem for society. Not only those results, but also overpopulation make food wars happen or children be unable to go to school. Just because of parents’ avarice, the social problems are being getting more serious day by day. Parents should take care of their children, whatever the gender is, boy or girl. Also, the government should take a role in controlling population. If the government still does not have any solution for population growth, they might face a big problem.
References
Baldauf, S. (2006, January 13). Study: Selective-sex abortion claims 500,000 girls a year. Csmonitor.com. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0113/p01s04-wosc.htm
Gajilan, A. C. (2005, Nov. 17). Gender selection a reality, but is it ethical? CNN.com. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://cnn.corldnews.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title…2Fpdg.gender.selection%2Findex.heml%3Dnewssearch&partmerID=2006
Girish, U. (2005, February 09). For India’s daughters, a dark birth day. Csmonitor.com. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0209/p11s01-wosc.htm
Kontominas, B. (2007, October 31). Gender imbalance a threat to stability. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popuPrintArticle.pl?path=/article/2007/10/30/1193618880862.html
Rosenberg, M. (2007, Oct. 18). India’s Population. About.com. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://geograhpy.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/indiapopulation.html?p=1
Sullivan, T. (2008, April 20). Rising India cannot shake its bias for boys: Gender imbalance widens in 2nd most populous country. SFGate.com. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/MN8510520C.DTL&type=printable
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)