Top 10 Reasons for Female Feticide
The practice of female feticide has existed since ancient times and while this concept gradually vanished due to the evolution of many societies it still exists in all its glory in some parts of the world. In this disgraceful act, the female fetus is aborted only because of its gender. In India the birth of a female is not appreciated and the mother is also cursed for bringing shame to the family. Keep reading this article to learn about the top ten reasons for female feticide.
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1
Shame linked with the birth of a female
One of the basic reasons behind this ruthless act is the shame some families think the birth of a girl brings to the family. Girls are considered weak so when they are born the family is caught in sorrow while the birth of a boy is appreciated as a sign of strength.
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2
The fear a girl's marriage expenses
In the Indian culture the family of the girl has to give expensive gifts on her marriage, these are sometimes demanded by the family of the groom. Poor families who cannot afford expensive gifts consider the birth of a female as a burden on the whole family. Which is why they abort the fetus before it comes into the world.
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3
The desire to continue the family name with a male child
In many cultures, the family name holds great importance which is carried forward by the sons and not by the daughters. So the birth of the female is cursed and those couples keep trying till they get a son. This desire to have more sons who would carry the family name forces some couples to abort the female fetus.
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Myths regarding curse with female births
In some cultures it is believed that the family gets a never ending curse on the birth of a girl, so in order to save themselves from this, families opt to abort the birth of a girl.
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5
The desire to have a boy as the first-born
The desire to have the boy as the first-born is another major reason behind female feticide. If the fetus of the first child is detected to be of a girl, then some couples choose to abort the pregnancy and try again so that they can proudly become the parents of a boy.
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6
To deny the division of land and property by giving it away to the daughter
In some cultures land and property is not given to the girl by her family, instead everything is divided among the male siblings. These couples can also choose to abort the birth of a female child in order to avoid a situation where she might one day claim her rightful share.
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7
Lack of opportunities for women in society
Lack of opportunities for women in society also encourages female feticide as they believe these women will have not have any role to play.
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8
Illiteracy is an important factor
Lack of education in some societies is the biggest reason behind female feticide.
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9
Birth of boys is considered to bring respect in the society
The birth of boys is considered as social status, pride is associated with boys whereas girls are not desired.
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10
Consider girls weak and a liability to the honour of the family
Girls are considered weak and unable to protect their honour. If they are exploited, the whole family name is ruined.
