Kill your (female) darlings
I don’t like writing sensationalist headlines, but sometimes there is just cause. The stats are out for India’s 2011 census, and the news is not good for girls. They are being killed in ever greater numbers, as the preference for boys intensifies:
In many ways, son preference is the starkest indictment on the status of women in the country. When parents make the choice to abort their unborn daughters, it is the crudest expression of a society’s shared belief that women are neither equal to men nor will they experience the same opportunities. The reasons for the son preference can be traced to social norms that are deeply entrenched within…societies that have “strong economic and social incentives to raise sons and eliminate daughters.” - India Journal: No Country for Women
In my work I speak to thousands of Australians about poverty, and explain the reasons why focusing on women and girls in developing countries is so essential.
The reality is that baby girls are being killed. If they survive birth, they are fed least and last in their families. If they reach childhood, they miss out on school and develoment opportunities. Then they are married too young. When they are married, they miss out on essential healthcare and nutrition in pregnancy, childbirth and beyond, and too often die. In wartimes and emergencies they are sexually and physically abused.
It doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way. Here are three solutions you can be part of right now to help:
