Female Foeticide
Dailymail reported a case of female feoticide in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. A baby was found by police men buried alive in Mandleshwar forest. They heard a howling sound, and as they approached the sound, they found a baby who was buried in the grounds of the forest. The police suspect it was a case of female foetocide, the baby was abandoned because of its sex.
Traditionally in India, it is believed that a male would bring wealth to a family with his ability to work and earn money, and a female would be a burden. The parents of the female would have to pay the expenses of their daughter’s wedding as well as give dowry. Most families did not have this kind of money, so daughters were abandoned or killed. Gender discrimination against babies was a common phenomenon, but not for the dislike of a female daughter, but for the difficulties the society created.
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When ultrasound became popular in India, several couples resorted to abortion or abandonment, gender discrimination against babies only increased. However in todays India, knowing the sex of your baby is illegal, and so is giving dowry when a girl is being married off. Although this seems to remove most of the societal problems, these norms would take more than a law to be fully erased. Major cities have accepted these laws and are now shifting from old Indian culture. However, the problem is still prominent amongst the less educated people, who usually reside in the villages.
Gender discrimination against babies
Gender discrimination against babies may not seem so big in Asia. However, several families that don’t have the funds to raise and educate all of their children, will result to gender discrimination. Girls who grow up in this kind of an environment are usually unskilled, and decide to be household servants in richer countries. This is not something families wish to do, gender discrimination comes from the lack of money to raise a child combined with an ingrained cultural saying that boys will be the breadwinners.
What to do when you come across a sexist parent
Most parents love their children no matter what, however there may be the odd time in your life, when you come across a sexist parent. Several people don’t know that they are sexist until it is pointed out to them. The case might not be as severe as the female foeticitis, but a sexist parent could deprive their son or daughter of something they should have had – without even realizing it.
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Firstly, it is important to know whether you have properly identified a sexist parent, sometimes we may misjudge. It is important not to judge this parent based on their thoughts on the different sexes, each person has their fair share of reasons for believing in certain things. You may not be able to completely resolve the issue, but you could talk about yourself. By talking about your stories of successful women, or males who support feminism, you might not be able to stop discrimination against babies completely, but you could change someone’s perception.
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Do you have any comments on discrimination against babies? If so, let us know! We’d love to hear from you. For more on this subject, watch this video: