What are the causes and impacts of changing gender structures?

India's missing millions
1. India's population approaching 1 billion
  1. 2nd most populous after China
2. 1999 - Estimated 936 female per 1000 male
  1. One of the lowest ratios in the world
    1. Saudi Arabia 804: 1000
    2. Britain 1036: 1000
  2. Statistically unusual - on average more men than women die in India
3. India would need 32.9 million more women to meet the world average of 1002: 1000
4. Male children preferred
  1. Girls often aborted but in few places. It is otherwise illegal
  2. Girl's life expectancy much lower than boy's after birth
    1. Likely due to girls receiving less food and less care than boys
    2. Girls breastfed for shorter periods of time
    3. Girls receive fewer medical consultations
    4. Girls are emitted to hospital later than boys. If not at all
  3. Within North India women are disadvantaged
    1. Less freedom and choice
    2. Less rights to inheritance and ownership
    3. Less access to knowledge and expression of opinions in public via voting
    4. Less decision making power within the family
5. Culture
  1. Women forbidden to marry within their own villages in Northern Indo-gangetic Plain
    1. Forced to leave parents at an early age
      1. Cut off emotionally and economically
  2. Female employment
    1. Paid works helps raise female status + gives bargaining power
    2. Working mothers can save money
      1. Sons not necessarily required to look after mothers financially
6. Education
  1. Statistically lower rate of child mortality with increase in female literacy
  2. Better educated women less likely to want boys
    1. More likely to utilise locally available medical facilities
      1. Increases child life expectancy
7. Lower income families and lower casts less likely to discriminate against women
  1. Also South India not as bad as North
China's 1 child policy
1. Application required for first child
2. Benefits given for only having 1 child
  1. If 2nd child is had benefits are taken away and heavily fined
3. Planned to last 100 years
4. Easier to have more children in rural areas
  1. 'Nanny police' in urban areas
5. Gender imbalance - 1:3 ratio
  1. 'Little emperor syndrome'
    1. single male children become spoiled, overweight and greedy
  2. Has resulted in a shift in dependency
    1. More dependent elderly than young
  3. Increased divorce rate
  4. Sex-selective abortions
    1. Lots of girls aborted
      1. Government is trying to stop this

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What are the causes and impacts of changing gender structures?

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	Created by RoryFlynn2 over 11 years ago