Citation

Bandyopadhyay M. Health Care Women Int. 2003; 24(10): 910-926.

Affiliation

Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, Department of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. mridula@unimelb.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07399330390244220

PMID

14742129

Abstract

Survival chances of girls in parts of South and East Asia have been adverse. Female foeticide, infanticide, abandonment, out-adoption, under-reporting of female births, and selective neglect of girls leading to higher death rates, have contributed to this adversity. Here, I reflect on an observed skewed sex ratio at birth in rural West Bengal, and discuss female foeticide, infanticide, son preference, and abortion. More boys were recorded at birth, and the majority of women desired sons. Trajectories of selective neglect of and discrimination against daughters have been researched extensively, but the related issues of female foeticide and infanticide have been less examined.

Language: en