India’s strong son preference has led to 63 million ‘missing’ women, government says
The excess of males might have long-term impacts
Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Annie Gowen.
India recently release its country’s annual economic survey, which included a 2017–18 estimate of 63 million women “missing” from its population. It also indicated that 2 million women go “missing” across age groups every year because of abortion of female fetuses, disease, neglect and inadequate nutrition.
Decades of son preference in India have led to the country having 63 million fewer women than it should have. There’s a man-made demographic bubble of excess males — those now under 25 top 50 million — and it may have long-term impacts on crime, human trafficking, the overall savings rate and the ability of these excess males to find brides.
Reasons for son preference
Tradition dictates a son will carry on the family business or inherit property, though legally, a daughter can do so, too.
Son preference in modern times
Sociologists have long argued that India’s son preference not only occurs in poor rural families but also in middle and upper-middle classes.
Indians have a “meta” son preference, which means that if they have girls, they’ll keep on having children until they get a boy.
This has led to an estimated 21 million “unwanted” girls in India, who often get less nourishment and schooling than their brothers.
Women in India
The survey — which was given a pink cover as a nod to women’s empowerment — said the country has made improvements in most overall gender indicators as the country’s wealth has grown, meaning women have better education and have greater agency over purchases and other decision-making in their households.
Yet the percentage of those working has declined over time, from 36 percent of women being employed outside the home, to 24 percent in 2015–16, largely because rising incomes of men have allowed wives to withdraw from the labor force and focus on child-rearing.
