Dear MEL Topic Readers,
India estimates 21 million of its girls are 'unwanted'
In India, there seems to be a very strong preference for boys over girls. Some parents keep making children until they get a boy. As a result, it is estimated that there could be as many as over 20 million unwanted girls in the nation. This sounds more humane than sex-selective abortions, as long as those girls are treated and given care as well as and as much as boys.
And there seem to be numbers of sex-selective abortions. In some regions, under the age of seven, there are 1,200 boys for every 1,000 girls of the same age. How will those boys find their girlfriends or brides when they grow up?
One of the reasons many Indian parents still prefer boys is that they want to pass their property on their sons. Also, when their daughters get married, they are obliged to pay handsome dowries, and they move to their husband’s house by tradition. Though modern lifestyle is changing such traditions and customs in large cities, they are still in practice in many parts of the country.
Read the article and think what it’s like to be one of those unwanted girls in India.
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