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2014-07-23 12:38:19 UTC
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/22/india-faces-crisis-over-dwindling-numbers-girls-un-warns/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fhealth+%28Internal+-+Health+-+Text%29
city of Chandigarh August 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
The dwindling numbers of Indian girls, caused by the illegal abortion
of millions of babies, has reached "emergency proportions", fuelling an
increase in crimes such as kidnapping and trafficking, the United
Nations warned on Tuesday.
Despite laws that ban expectant parents from running tests to determine
the gender of unborn children, female foeticide remains a common
practice in parts of India, where a preference for sons runs deep.
"It is tragically ironic that the one who creates life is herself
denied the right to be born," said Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive
director of U.N. Women, at the launch of a new study on sex ratios and
gender-biased sex selection.
India's traditionally male-dominated culture views sons as assets --
breadwinners who will provide for the family, carry on the family name,
and perform the last rites for their parents, an important ritual in
many faiths.
city of Chandigarh August 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
The dwindling numbers of Indian girls, caused by the illegal abortion
of millions of babies, has reached "emergency proportions", fuelling an
increase in crimes such as kidnapping and trafficking, the United
Nations warned on Tuesday.
Despite laws that ban expectant parents from running tests to determine
the gender of unborn children, female foeticide remains a common
practice in parts of India, where a preference for sons runs deep.
"It is tragically ironic that the one who creates life is herself
denied the right to be born," said Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive
director of U.N. Women, at the launch of a new study on sex ratios and
gender-biased sex selection.
India's traditionally male-dominated culture views sons as assets --
breadwinners who will provide for the family, carry on the family name,
and perform the last rites for their parents, an important ritual in
many faiths.