February 20, 2003

The girl child in Pakistan is discriminated against from the moment she is born writes, Shabnam Nasir

The girl child of Pakistan has a serious problem. For her, discrimination on the basis of her sex starts as soon as she starts life inside her mother’s womb. This discrimination will continue to be a potential threat to her the minute she is born into the world. It is estimated that there are approximately 60 million ‘missing women’ world-wide. Where are they? Unfortunately, they have been the victims of economic and social neglect derived from global cultures that exhibit a strong son preference.

In September 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, recommendations were that “Leaders at all levels of the society must speak out and act forcefully against patterns of gender discrimination within the family, based on preference on sons. One of the aims should be to eliminate excess mortality of girls, whenever such a pattern exists.”

Consider this old Chinese proverb: Eighteen goddesses-like daughters are not equal to one son with a hump. Food for thought?

Along with other countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and as we can see, China — there is a strong preference and a deep-rooted desire to have sons and not daughters. Amazingly Sri Lanka, which is found in the same South Asian region, displays no sex preference for children of a certain sex. The reason being that Sri Lanka has succeeded in improving the status of women during the past two decades by increasing the literacy rate amongst females; introducing strong welfare programmes favourable to women; improving life expectancy; reducing fertility and socially empowering their women.

In comparison, the rest of the countries in South Asia continue to exhibit a strong son preference at the expense of the vulnerable girl child.

When a woman is expecting a baby in our society, she becomes used to hearing the words: May God bless you with a son. The emphasis will not usually be on the need of the baby to be healthy, but on the necessity for the new arrival to be of the male sex. Giving birth to girls is seen as some sort of major failure on the parent’s behalf, (usually the mother’s fault ) especially if they fail to add the presence of a ‘son’ to the family.

Many poor families will burden an already limited income by having a girl after girl, in the hope that they will eventually hit the jackpot and have a boy. They will not think of the effects of putting a strain on their income with their existing children, as they are females. This is because if they succeed in having a son, he will be the receiver of the bulk of the families’ meagre food supply, at the expense of his female siblings.

The preference for having a son rather than a daughter constitutes a very high percentage in South Asia. The World Fertility Survey, which estimated an index for 38 countries, showed results of son preference ranging from 0.7 in Jamaica (the lowest), to 4.9 in Pakistan (the highest). Cultural and social discrimination have succeeded in creating a society that is ‘happy to have boys’ and would usually not wish for female additions to the family. Poverty and illiteracy are to be blamed for many of the evils which plague society, but a preference for sons seems to be a widespread desire throughout the general Pakistani public, whether rich or poor.

Let us take the story of Farhana (name changed). Married with three daughters, she was a happy and lively natured person full of life and always smiling. Both husband and wife were resolute in trying for a son. Instead of a son however, their fourth daughter was born. When Farhana conceived for the fifth time, she spent all of her nine months continuously praying and reciting specific verses of the Quran, to ensure that this time she would deliver a baby boy.

Women came to her house and told her of various herbs she should eat during her pregnancy, and Farhana left no stone unturned in obeying each and every suggestion she was given. When I last met her, I vividly remember saying that although she was convinced that she was going to have a boy, she should be mentally prepared for the eventuality of the baby being a girl. “Don’t say that!” I remember her shrieking, “if I have another daughter, I swear I will die.” I berated her immediately for speaking such words, as her little daughters needed their mother to care for them more than she could ever imagine.

As her pregnancy progressed, Farhana started buying baby clothes (needless to say all for a boy) and started preparing for the happy event to come. Both parents refused to find out the sex of the baby by ultrasound, as relatives had “told” them that the size and shape of Farhana’s stomach left no doubt she was indeed carrying a boy. A certain kind of suspense had now started to form, as friends and family were anticipating the birth of the child that everyone was waiting for.

The telephone call came in the early hours of the morning. Farhana has had another baby daughter, came the somber voice. Oh dear, I remember mumbling, Farhana is probably heartbroken then. No, replied the voice on the other end, she died an hour after giving birth, due to a severe hemorrhage.

At Farhana’s funeral her little daughters sat stunned, unable to comprehend the reality of never seeing their mother again. The youngest did not even know what was happening as she continued trying to rouse her mother from what she perceived as a ‘deep sleep’.

Stories like Farhana’s are real soul searchers. Why is it that women are willing to put their lives at risk, enduring successive and too closely spaced pregnancies that can prove life threatening? Why are they willing to neglect the healthy daughters they have been blessed with? And why is the status of the girl child in South Asia at such an all time low?

In families where poverty is present, being born a female is a curse in itself. Poor families provide sons with bigger food shares, plus better health and educational opportunities. Excessive mortality of female children is present due to this unfair allocation of food and health distribution. In 1991 child mortality rates showed that between the ages of one to five, 37 girls died compared to 22 boys out of 1,000 children. Mothers in rural areas tend to breast-feed their male babies longer, as compared to female babies, thus depriving their girls of essential nutrition in the most important months of their lives.

The basis of this discrimination originates in the notion that in many South Asian countries, sons are perceived to be economic assets, and the only guarantee of security in old age. Daughters on the other hand are perceived as ‘expensive’ because of the dowry system involved in marrying them off. After marriage, the idea that the girl’s family holds a much lower status as compared to the boy’s parents can be the basis for many insults that the girl and her family are forced to endure. This prospect often depresses parents who have several daughters waiting to be married off. The actual process of finding a suitable match for daughters can prove to be a difficult process too, as again the boy’s family reserve the right of accepting or rejecting any girl that they go to find for their son.

Females being unable to assist financially in many households, is another adding factor to the high son preference in many South Asian countries.

As she grows older, the female child in Pakistan is in danger of being abused and victimized, as she represents a helpless and male-dependent aspect of society. Having said as much, it is not surprising to note that the status of female health and education in Pakistan is quite dismal, and maternal deaths result in figures of 1 in every 38 women, dying from avoidable pregnancy related causes. Surveys have shown that Pakistan has the second highest gender gap in school enrollment rates throughout the world, in accordance with Population Action International. Our region of the globe has earned the title of being the poorest, most illiterate, malnourished and least gender-sensitive in the world, confirming the crucial need for a change in attitude towards females, and giving them social, political and legal empowerment.

Girls are often forced into marriages they do not consent to, as they are often viewed as a burden on the family that needs to be relieved as soon as possible. In this situation they will often find themselves caught in the cycle of reproductive illnesses. Frequent childbirth and an inadequate diet in pregnancy will make a woman anemic, and with two-third of deliveries in Pakistan occurring at home, complications during childbirth are factors which contribute towards infant and maternal deaths.

Worldwide, the ratio for females to males is 106:100, where women generally outlive men if both sexes receive similar nutrition and health care. According to the Human Development in South Asia report, the ratio shows opposite statistics of 94:100 for the South Asian region.

In countries such as mainland China, Taiwan and India, pre-sex selection results in parents illegally aborting their female unborn babies. This is done by misusing tests such as ultrasounds, amniocentesis and chronic villus sampling. These are examples of regions exhibiting pre-natal mortality.

In other countries, Pakistan included, baby girls are at a risk of postnatal mortality due to allocation of less food and poor health monitoring. Violence against females is also claiming many lives in South Asia. Infanticide, child abuse and rape leading to suicide, dowry deaths and burning of Hindu widows on the funeral pyre are a few examples. Generally speaking, the situation is grim.

Awareness amongst the general public to elevate the level of a woman’s status is imperative, and the main step towards attaining this social recognition is by providing more female children with education. Increasing the economic opportunities for women and raising the value of women’s labour would increase the likelihood of parents regarding their daughters as economic assets rather than as liabilities.

Such a phenomenon that has occurred in Sri Lanka, has made the status of women much higher than in other South Asian countries, resulting in a marking decline in the overall son preference and subsequent neglect of the girl child. Emphasizing consciousness-raising for the whole society on the value of girls and women, the need for education and health care equally for boys and girls, are steps which need to be taken. The need for legal changes to promote male-female equality are also essential in cementing the foundations towards a productive society. This will inevitably promote a cultural realization that girls and boys are born with equal rights that must be recognized throughout their life. A girl child does not ask to be born. It is her parent’s responsibility to treat her just as equally, as if she were a son.

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