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Imbalance: A classroom innorthern India, with 20 boysand 8 girls

Asia's Missing GirlsA traditional preference for boys, combined with

technology that allows pregnant women toknow the sex of their babies, has led to a huge gender

imbalance in China and India

Yang Xiaowei, a 35-year-oldchicken farmer from a villagein eastern China, has threechildren: two older daughtersand a long-awaited baby boy.

Having a son is so important, Yangexplains, that he and his wife werewilling to risk the large fine that couldresult from violating the government'sone-child policy.

"If you don't have a son, people willcondescend to you," he says. "It's alwaysbeen this way. If you have a son, yourfamily will be given a certain social status.You can ask 10 people in the village, andthey'll all tell you the same thing."

This kind of thinking is at the heart ofa massive demographic problem facingChina. Until recently, there wasn't muchthat anyone could do about having sonsor daughters. But in the 1980s, ultrasoundscanners-which were intended forchecking the health of developing fetus-es but also can show their sex-becamewidely available across Asia.

Suddenly it became easy for womento find out if they were going to have aboy or a girl. And in countries like China

With reporting by Jim Yardley and Ross

Douthat of The New York Times; and by

Jonathan Kaiman.

BY PATRICIA SMITH

WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?Countries with the highest numberof boys born for every 100 girls.(The natural ratio is 105 boys forevery 100 girls.)

1. CHINA 1192. AZERBAI.JAN 1173. ARMENIA 1144. INDIA 1115. GEORGIA 1116. SOLOMON ISLANDS 1097. TAiWAN 1088. MACEDONIA 1089. SERBIA 108

10. SOUTH KOREA 107

UNITED STATES 105

SOURCE: CARL HAUB. POPULATION REFERENCEBUREAU. NUMBERS ARE MOST RECENT AVAILABLE FOREACH COUNTRY.

and India, women began deciding not tohave their baby if it was going to be agirl. The result is a serious gender imbal-ance in both countries.

China now has the world's highestgender disparity among newborns: 119boys are born for every 100 girls. That'swell above the natural ratio of 105 boysfor every 100girls (which is also the ratio

in the United States). In some parts ofChina and India, the imbalance is closeto three boys for every two girls. AcrossAsia, the gender imbalance translatesinto millions of "missing" girls.

Within a decade, that will mean mil-lions of young men unable to find wives.And experts fear that could lead to anincrease in the trafficking of women andan overall spike in crime.

"It's a humongous problem," saysValerie Hudson, a professor at BrighamYoungUniversity in Provo, Utah, and co-author of a book on the topic. "Withouta balanced sex ratio in a society, you'recourting disaster."

Beyond AsiaWorldwide, demographers say, the

number of missing girls has risen tomore than 160 million. The problemis most severe in China, India, andthe Caucasus region, which includesAzerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia (seechart). But sex ratios are also out of bal-ance in other places, including parts ofEurope and Asian-American communi-ties in the United States.

"We've seen sex selection spread fromSouth and East Asia to new countries, andthat's alarming," says Mara Hvistendahl,author of Unnatural Selection: Choosing

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A supermarket inShanghai: In China, 119boysare born to every 100 girls.

Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of

a World Full of Men.

"The preference for sons is very wide-spread," she adds.

In China, the problem is partially a. result of the country's tough one-childpolicy. It was introduced in 1979 as anattempt to stem the growth of China'spopulation, which is now 1.3 billion.But limiting couples to one child, whichhas helped to slow population growth,has had unintended consequences: Inaddition to the gender imbalance, it'scontributed to a surge in the number ofgirls given up for adoption. (See Voices in

the Jan. 2, 2012, issue of Up front.)

Underlying the gender imbalanceare centuries-old Asian attitudes aboutwomen. Until well into the 20th centurymany Asian women weren't allowed towork outside their homes, go to school,or decide who they would marry. While

Women in Chinaand India arebeing kidnappedand sold tomen desperatefor wives.

sons were cherished, girls were oftenneglected, poorly cared for when theygot sick, and sometimes abandoned.(Some of these same attitudes are atwork in the non-Asian countries withgender imbalances.)

The Need for a SonAsian women have made great strides

in the last half-century. In China, forexample, men and women are now equal

10 i1!lJe~t.\tIYorki1!illlell UPFRONT • UPFRONTMAGAZINE.COM

under the law, arranged marriages havebeen banned, and women are gettinggood jobs.

So why, especially in rural areas,do many Asians still favor boys? It'slargely about economics-particularlyeconomics rooted in cultural traditionsabout women.

"Mostly, Chinese worry that if theydon't have a son, no one will take careof them when they are too old to work,"says Wu Shaoming, director of a wom-en's studies institute in Chengdu, China.The Chinese government does not pro-vide welfare or free medical care topeasants. What's more, Wu says it'scommon for a woman in the countrysideto move to her husband's village aftermarriage, providing no support to herown family.

That's how Yang, the chicken farmer,sees it: '1f you only have a daughter, after

she gets older and gets married, she'llbecome somebody else's," he explains."And then when you get old, you'll havenobody to take care of you. So every fam-ily needs to have a little boy."

These same attitudes are commonin India, which is also struggling with ahuge gender imbalance.

In a traditional Indian family, a son isexpected to live with his parents, earnan income, inherit property, care for hisparents in their old age, and-if they'reHindu-light their funeral pyre. When adaughter marries, the bride's family paysthe groom's family a dowry-a gift ofmoney and presents-and she moves inwith her husband's family, often leavingher parents with nothing or even in debtfrom her dowry.

India's gender imbalance is actuallygetting worse as the country's boomingeconomy pulls millions out of povertyand into a growing middle class that canafford ultrasound tests.

Indian census data confirm that theproblem has accelerated since 2001. The2011census found 7.1 million fewer girlsthan boys under the age of 6, comparedwith a gap of roughly 6 million girls adecade earlier.

For countries like India and China,

this is a demographics problem withvery real consequences.

"By the 2020s, 15 percent of men inChina and 15percent ofmen in northwestIndia won't have a female counterpart,"says Hvistendahl. "There will be decadeswhere a large chunk of men won't beable to marry."

And that could lead to an increasein instability in both places. Women inChina and India are already being kid-napped and sold to men desperate forspouses. Crime rates could also spike,since single men are responsible formost crime.

South Korea's ResponseThe governments of China and India

have both banned the use of ultrasoundto determine gender. But the laws arehard to enforce.

One country that has had success tack-ling this problem is South Korea. Theratio is currently 107boys born for every100 girls, still above normal, but waydown from a peak of more than 116boysborn for every 100girls in 1990.

The most important factor in changingattitudes toward girls was a radical shiftin South Korea's economy that openedthe doors to women in the workforce

as never before. This has dismantledlong-held traditions, which so deval-ued daughters that mothers would oftenapologize for giving birth to a girl.

The government also played a smallrole. Starting in the 1970s, South Koreanofficials launched campaigns to changepeople's attitudes. A typical slogan was,"One daughter raised. well is worth10sons!"

The Chinese government is alsoaddressing the problem. In the south-ern village of Hoayang, there aresigns forbidding the use of ultrasoundmachines to determine a baby's sex.Fines for violations can be as highas $31s-a vast sum for a farmer inrural China. A slogan painted by thegovernment on the side of a buildingreads, "Having a boy and having a girlare the same."

But it takes more than slogans tochange long-held attitudes. The tradi-tions that underlie the preference forsons go way back. A generation ago,Yang's parents had 10 daughters beforehe was finally born.

"There'sa saying in Chinese: 'Raisea son to safeguard your old age; " Yangsays. "From thousands of years ago tothe present, this hasn't changed at all." •

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