The Centre for International Health and Development in London conducted a study which shows that in 20 years from now there will be 20 percent more young men than women in China. And not only in China but also in several other countries like India, South Korea or North Africa, boys are still worth more than girls. For years girls have been neglected and at times even killed. Since the 1980’s when ultrasound made it to the developed cities and a little later to the outlying areas, another way to get rid of girls was found. Many couples abort their baby if they are expecting a girl. Girls do not even get a chance to show the world how great they are. When girls get married their parents have to pay an immense dowry, simply because boys are worth more than girls. For the parents, someone being kind enough to take care of their girl is worth a lot of money.
But why, in the 21st century, are boys and girls are treated so differently in many countries? I know that even in Western countries we still haven’t got around to ensuring equal payment and equal treatment between men and women. At least we let our baby girls live and don’t select our kids on the basis of sex. We love them no matter what and, although many people might have a preference in mind, it doesn’t really matter whether we have a girl or a boy.
So, why is it such a big deal in those other countries then? What makes boys so much more precious than girls? Western countries show very clearly that there are no big differences in what men and women can accomplish. Of course, men are usually the stronger sex (The exception proves the rule.) But besides that, women can accomplish the same things as men. Nowadays, many women are doctors, lawyers, athletes in extreme sports or electrical engineers. And men become nursery school teachers and executive secretaries. Women are certainly not worth less than men.
Killing or neglecting girls has severe consequences, some of them obvious, others not so much. Firstly, what will all those men do who can’t find a wife because there are simply none left? They will live lonely lives and, seriously, what’s the good in that? They won’t have anyone to share special moments with, and each day after work they will come home to an empty apartment, have dinner alone and go to bed alone. Their quality of life will be extremely low. And this may lead to other serious problems. Experts say that these lonely men will have psychological problems. The rate of violent crime will increase simply because there are not enough women available.
Hence, women are far more important for keeping our societies going than most people (most men) would have ever thought. Without women, men would go crazy. They would struggle with severe psychological problems and possibly end up in prison. This should be evidence enough for those countries which still believe that boys are better than girls to rethink their worldview. Women are one of the main reasons the world is still intact. Too much testosterone in one place is never good. And too much testosterone in a country is a recipe for a civil war. Misogynous countries just aren’t cool. I just wonder how long it will take them to realize that.
As a mother of three daughters, I can only underline what you wrote in your blog entry. And the common attitude in civilised Germany is not so far removed from that in Asia. After the birth of our third wonderful daughter, people kept offering us their condolences that it was "only" a daughter again. I don't think they believed us when we assured them we didn't mind at all having another daughter. Especially my husband was suspected of preferring a boy – a real man needs a son!! I always felt like punching so much stupidity in the face.
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