Question
The West sees South Asia's gender-selective abortions as a major issue. Does South Asia see it as a major issue as well?
Answer
I am not aware that it IS seen as a major issue here in the West. I've never seen any coverage of it in the mainstream news.
In India, there is significantly more coverage. Or at least there was while I was still there 15 years ago. A quick google search shows that it seems to have continued. Here is a recent story from a week ago:
http://articles.timesofindia.ind...
The problem is relatively localized geographically (states like Punjab and Haryana) and socially (oddly enough, it is the middle/upper-middle class that exhibit it more, partly because they can afford things like sonograms, and partly because they are hidebound medieval traditionalists with a thin veneer of modernity).
http://www.thenational.ae/news/w...
It is causing weird social dynamics, like the large deficit of women, in some cases causing families to go as far as kidnapping prospective brides from other parts of the country.
If the deficit gets large, there are worries that it could be socially destabilizing, with large cohorts of young men unable to find women and doing violent things.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2...
There is activism, yes. At least in India. The links give you some idea.
Is it enough? I don't know.
Not to be callous, but it is a big country with many problems. This one doesn't strike me as particularly high on the list, since there is a history of a relatively strong women's movement and success in other states. There is a good chance it will self-correct before it gets too bad. I believe the sex ratio is now something like 914:1000, which is lousy (it should be more women than men).
Outside India, I don't know. In the Islamic world, I'd say this pales in comparison to other problems affecting women and the meta-problem of activism being hard in totalitarian states.
Can Westerners help here? Probably not directly. Indirectly, I'd say the best mechanism is likely support for women in higher education/college/jobs.
That way the people most affected by the phenomenon will be more empowered to lead the way to eradicate it. Since this is a cultural rather than financial problem, direct intervention is unlikely to help
In India, there is significantly more coverage. Or at least there was while I was still there 15 years ago. A quick google search shows that it seems to have continued. Here is a recent story from a week ago:
http://articles.timesofindia.ind...
The problem is relatively localized geographically (states like Punjab and Haryana) and socially (oddly enough, it is the middle/upper-middle class that exhibit it more, partly because they can afford things like sonograms, and partly because they are hidebound medieval traditionalists with a thin veneer of modernity).
http://www.thenational.ae/news/w...
It is causing weird social dynamics, like the large deficit of women, in some cases causing families to go as far as kidnapping prospective brides from other parts of the country.
If the deficit gets large, there are worries that it could be socially destabilizing, with large cohorts of young men unable to find women and doing violent things.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2...
There is activism, yes. At least in India. The links give you some idea.
Is it enough? I don't know.
Not to be callous, but it is a big country with many problems. This one doesn't strike me as particularly high on the list, since there is a history of a relatively strong women's movement and success in other states. There is a good chance it will self-correct before it gets too bad. I believe the sex ratio is now something like 914:1000, which is lousy (it should be more women than men).
Outside India, I don't know. In the Islamic world, I'd say this pales in comparison to other problems affecting women and the meta-problem of activism being hard in totalitarian states.
Can Westerners help here? Probably not directly. Indirectly, I'd say the best mechanism is likely support for women in higher education/college/jobs.
That way the people most affected by the phenomenon will be more empowered to lead the way to eradicate it. Since this is a cultural rather than financial problem, direct intervention is unlikely to help