Have you ever wondered why women are still not accepted as equals however so many women are educated and working hard to enter the workforce in huge numbers?
We see this 2/3rd count of missing females due to gender-biased sex selection. The rate of excess female deaths is rising every day. At workplaces, we observe there are fewer female CEOs.
The common thread for this issue is gender discrimination has been a matter of concern always. What can be those notable forces that are hindering our progress towards gender parity? We should be worrying about the female shortage all over the world. Below are the reasons why we should be agonizing about this.
Some facts that You should not miss
We have seen a drop in sex ratios in India for decades, and missing females is a serious issue to deal with. The State of World Population Report 2020 released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), states the count of missing females around the world has more than doubled in the past 50 years.
The missing female population was 61 million in 1970 and later rose to 142 million worldwide in 2020. However, China and India are the countries that hold a big part of missing women globally. India holds 45.8 million of the global 142.6 million. Plus, China holds 72.3 million of the entire count. Here, we have addressed the missing female issue that is a matter of concern globally.
Who are Missing Females?
The missing female shows a shortfall in the number from the population at a time in a place. There are growing issues like pre and postnatal sex selection (prenatal sex selection permits the parents of the child to know their sex before birth and after birth in postnatal sex selection) occurring from the past leading to missing females.
The right way to measure the missing female population is male-to-female sex ratios. It’s visible that the reasons are sex-selective abortions, insufficient healthcare, female infanticide, for female children.
Some technologies that are there since the 1970s, which help in prenatal sex selection, acts like a big impetus for the missing female population. We are still observing the cases of doctors doing tests to know gender before the birth of the newborn that is illegal in Country. These wrongdoers are also responsible for the present descended situation.
How does the count affect India?
In India, between 2013-17, around 4,60,000 girls were found missing at birth each year. According to the reports, gender-biased sex selection holds for two-third of the missing girls. And, the post-birth female mortality holds one-third of it. India has its highest rate of excess female deaths i.e, 13.5 per 1,000 female births. One in nine estimated deaths of girls below 5-years of age happens due to postnatal sex selection.
51% of young women with no education and 47% of those with primary education were married by 18 years. Plus, only 29% of the young girls with secondary education and 4% with post-secondary education get married before turning 18. In 2020, there is an estimated count of 4.1 million girls who will be subjected to female genital mutilation.
China and India holds Majority of the Missing Females
China and India together report for around 90-95 % of an estimated 1.2 million to 1.5 million missing female births annually all over the world. It happens due to gender-biased (prenatal) sex selection. These two countries with the biggest population report the largest number of births every year, and more births are due to a large population.
According to the reports, the government has now taken an action to find the root cause of sex selection. India and Vietnam have included some of the campaigns that are targeting gender stereotypes to change the attitudes of people. Moreover, this is opening the door to new norms and behavior. It shows the importance of our daughters and highlights how women have changed society for the better with the campaigns that celebrate women’s progress and achievements.
The report states that Indian initiatives like Apni Beti Apna Dhan give a cash transfer conditional on the books, school fees, and study cost. But, after all these initiatives, the number of missing females is still growing.
What is Marriage Squeeze and How will it affect us?
Marriage squeeze is a demographic imbalance where the count of potential brides does not match with the count of potential grooms. It has been seen in some countries and affects mostly young men from the lower economic strata. The preference for a male child from the past clear in sex selection has led to a dramatic shift in the proportion of men and women.
According to the reports, this demographic imbalance will poorly impact our marriage system. A time will come when the grooms will delay or forego their marriage as they will not be able to find a spouse for them.
Also, child marriages will play a big part in all this as it would be difficult for a man to find a girl in the future. Few studies suggest the marriage squeeze will peak in India in the year 2055. The proportion of men who are still single in their 50s will eventually rise after 2050 in India to 10 percent.
As per UN reports, every year, there are millions of girls that are globally put through practices that harm them emotionally and physically. It is performed with the full knowledge and the consent of their families and the communities.
Harmful Practices against Females
A UNFPA report has shown that at least 19 harmful practices, from honour killings to testing virginity, come under human rights violations. It focuses on the three most common and the widespread ones. Child marriage, Female genital mutilation, and an extreme bias against the daughters in favor of sons. UNFPA Executive Director said in a statement, these dangerous practices against females causes intense trauma in them. There is a hefty need to overcome these issues.
Ending female genital mutilation and child marriage globally is possible within 10-years only if we scale up the efforts to keep the girls in school longer and teach them life skills and engage men and boys in this large social change.
If investments are made, adding up to USD 3.4 billion yearly through 2030 would assist in ending these harmful practices. Moreover, an end to the suffering of an estimated 84 million girls, it said.
Consequences
Societal healthSo, female discrimination and neglect are not just affecting only girls and women. There are the effects of female malnutrition and other forms of discrimination on men’s health too.
As pregnant women suffer from nutritional neglect, their fetus suffers, leading to low birth weight for male and female babies. Moreover, underweight babies are at a big risk for undernourishment even after years of birth, and men are most likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases.
Missing bridesSome have speculated that the disparity in the sex ratio may affect the marriage market in the future in such a way that may turn the tide of missing women.
Excess menSince the arrival of sex-selective abortions through ultrasound and other medical processes in the 1980s, the gender discriminations that have caused the missing women population to rise have simultaneously produced the cohorts of excess men.
What initiatives have been taken by the government till now to overcome these issues and encourage women in the rural and urban areas?
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao YojanaIt was launched in January 22, 2015 in Haryana. This yojana focuses on creating awareness and improving the efficiency of welfare services for females.
Mahila Shakti Kendra It was launched in 2017 to mainly provide opportunities like health and nutrition, digital literacy, employment, and skill development to rural women and empower them.
Support to training and employment programme for women (STEP)This scheme came to provide the females with best skills so that they can take up profitable employment.
Above mentioned initiatives have been taken up by the government till now, yet no improvement has been seen in the missing female population. Rather than it going up everyday.
A recent analysis says that if the services and programs stay shut for a few months due to this COVID-19 pandemic, then the count would increase to more than 13 million girls who may be forced into marriage. And, 2 million more girls may put through female genital mutilation between now and the year 2030.
This devastating pandemic has made our responsibility huge and urgent as many females are currently at big risk.
