Shahrukh .N. Taghvaei
51261
“Insecurity of women in india is more of a cultural
issue then a law and order problem”
South
Asia is well known as being a region of the world
where
the normally higher number of females than males in the total population
is
reversed. Among the Indian states, historically Punjab1 in the Northwest
has
had the most imbalanced sex ratios (Visaria, 1969: 3). The excessive
mortality
of females that this reflects is commonly hypothesized to be due to
discrimination
against females, particularly female children, relative to males,
in
the allocation of food and health care within the household.
A
number of studies have found evidence of such sex bias. For example, A study of
two villages in West Bengal found that girls consistently had poorer
nutritional status than boys among all socioeco-nomic strata, as defined
by landholding and mother's education. Several other studies also have
presented quantitative evidence of sex bias in patterns of child
nutrition and health care . Dyson and Moore (1983) found that sex
differentials in child mortality are much higher in North than in South India,
and they related this difference to variations between the North and South in
kinship systems and female autonomy.
While
documenting the existence of sex bias, this leave us with
little
understanding of the dynamics of sex discrimination at the household
level
and its relationship to family-building strategies. All the studies cited
seem
to be based on the assumption that there is a generalized tendency to
give
preferential treatment to boys over girls that is rooted in the low
value
placed
on females in South Asian societies. An implication of generalized sex bias is
that discriminatory behavior need not occur at a conscious level. Parents in
a society may simply have internalized certain norms that lead them
to give better care to their sons than their daughters, and excess
female mortality may be an unintended consequence.
Yet
we know that innumerable surveys in South Asia have found that
parents
state clearly that they want to have more boys than girls. That parents
act
on these preferences is revealed by the common finding that the decision
to
terminate childbearing is strongly related to the number of surviving sons
couples
have. This raises the possibility that parents may realize their desire
to
have fewer girls than boys by discriminating particularly heavily
against
some
of their daughters.
The
discrimination against girls is not generalized, but rather is closely
related to individual parents' family- building strategies. It goes on to
explore the mechanisms-allocation of food,
clothing,
and medical expenses-whereby these differentials in mortality are
brought
about. Finally, it examines the reasons why son preference is so strong
in
Punjab society. Sex differentials by
birth
order are far stronger than those by socioeconomic status. Moreover,
these
differentials show a remarkable persistence in the face of socioeconomic
development,
mortality decline, and fertility decline. In fact, fertility decline
appears
to heighten such selective discrimination. Interestingly, women's ed-
ucation
is associated with reduced child mortality but stronger discrimination
against
higher birth order girls. This strong underlying preference for sons
appears
to be the outcome of women's structural marginalization and insecurity in this
culture,
which
results in their being of low value to their parents.
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