Panel explores link between sex-selection, abuse of women

Last updated on: September 16, 2013 at 4:47 pm by CNA Daily News

Panel explores link between sex-selection, abuse of women 2013-09-16T16:47:38+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Washington D.C., Sep 14, 2013 / 04:39 pm (CNA).- A recent hearing before members of the U.S. House of Representatives examined the gender imbalance in India and its connection to human trafficking and mistreatment of women in the country.

“Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide have led to lopsided sex ratios,” said Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.). “In parts of India, for example, 126 boys are born for every 100 girls.”

“This in turn leads to a shortage of women, which then leads to trafficking in persons, bride selling and prostitution.”

Smith leads the House congressional panel that oversees global health and human rights. He chaired a Sept. 10 hearing on the sex ratio disparity in India, the first of its kind in Congress.

The congressman explained that by “shining a light on what is happening in India with its missing girls, we hope to move toward a world where every woman is valued and respected because of her intrinsic dignity, and where every child is welcomed regardless of his or her sex.”

Panelists at the hearing described the gender imbalance in India as a multi-faceted phenomenon, stemming from societal discrimination against women, influenced by international population control programs, and accomplished though sex-selective abortion, infanticide, and child neglect.

Matthew J. Connelly, a history professor at Columbia University, stated that “there can be no more important question than why boys increasingly outnumber girls, and what kind of world they will inherit if women have become a minority.”

Connelly explained that international family planning policies have played a part in contributing to making women “a persecuted minority,” particularly in areas with an existing “prejudice against girls.”

“It is not enough merely to insist on choice,” he argued. “Choices can be conditioned by default or design in ways that lead to new kinds of oppression.”

Researcher Sabu M. George, a member of India’s Campaign Against Sex Selection, argued that “rampant sex selection has resulted in genocide” within India.

He warned that this “extreme form of violence against women” could lead to further problems, such as “several men sharing one wife” and an increased “threat of violence inside and outside homes.”

George also explained that while there are laws prohibiting the use of ultrasounds to reveal the sex of an unborn child, these laws are not enforced.

Human rights lawyer Jill McElya, who works with the Invisible Girl Project, echoed George’s statements, saying that sex trafficking, sexual assault and violence against women are an intense problem in the country, and “the root is gendercide.”

The United Nations estimates that 50 million women “are missing from India’s population,” she explained, meaning that millions of Indian men “will not marry because their potential wives have been murdered, due to female feticide, female infanticide, and deadly forms of neglect.”

This sex disparity leads to the use and abuse of girls, McElya said, pointing to a high profile gang rape that resulted in the death of a young woman in New Delhi last winter, as well as the rape, abandonment and death of a five-year-old girl in April.

“These two crimes are examples of the evil frequently inflicted upon women and girls in India,” she said.

To help stem the continuation of sex selection, infanticide, and child neglect, McElya asked that the United States require India and other countries with sex imbalances in the population “to report what they’re doing to save their daughters” as a condition to receive U.S. funding.

Previous Post

September 14, 2013

Pope praises newly beatified Argentine 'cowboy priest'

Next Post

September 15, 2013 Catholic bishops urge US to oppose massive food aid cuts

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the first book of the New Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Luke Matthew Mark John