Baby sex ratio bias continues
Source: Xinhua |
April 4, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
EXPERTS have suggested more effective action on discrimination against women to curb China's sex ratio imbalance.
The gender ratio of newborns stood at 119.45 boys to 100 girls in 2009, according to latest figures announced by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Gender discrimination was the major cause of the problem, said professor Zhai Zhenwu, dean of the School of Sociology and Population at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
"An imbalanced sex ratio is widely found in countries and cultures that favor boys," Zhai said.
Rural areas in China have reported the most serious sex ratio imbalance, he added.
Although ultrasound scans to distinguish infants' gender are banned, they still occur.
"Services have become sophisticated and gender scans can be arranged at home," Zhai said, adding it was difficult to catch offenders.
Chinese families mostly prefer boys because, traditionally, girls leave the family after getting married and parents have no one to look after them in old age, he said.
Stopping discrimination against women will help curb gender imbalance, said professor Yuan Xin, director of Nankai University's Population and Development Institute in Tianjin.
"Chinese women still lag behind men in career development, political life and family life," he said. "If women's social status improves, parents will feel better about raising a baby girl."
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated in December that China's male population at marriageable age will be 24 million more than females in 2020.
The gender ratio of newborns stood at 119.45 boys to 100 girls in 2009, according to latest figures announced by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Gender discrimination was the major cause of the problem, said professor Zhai Zhenwu, dean of the School of Sociology and Population at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
"An imbalanced sex ratio is widely found in countries and cultures that favor boys," Zhai said.
Rural areas in China have reported the most serious sex ratio imbalance, he added.
Although ultrasound scans to distinguish infants' gender are banned, they still occur.
"Services have become sophisticated and gender scans can be arranged at home," Zhai said, adding it was difficult to catch offenders.
Chinese families mostly prefer boys because, traditionally, girls leave the family after getting married and parents have no one to look after them in old age, he said.
Stopping discrimination against women will help curb gender imbalance, said professor Yuan Xin, director of Nankai University's Population and Development Institute in Tianjin.
"Chinese women still lag behind men in career development, political life and family life," he said. "If women's social status improves, parents will feel better about raising a baby girl."
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated in December that China's male population at marriageable age will be 24 million more than females in 2020.
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