Justice

I saw a documentary on TV the other night that showed how modern technology and ancient traditions have warped the male-female demographics in places such as India, Pakistan and China. Ultra-sound lets expectant couples know the gender of the fetus and a number of couples elect to abort the female fetuses. None of this is particularly new, per se, but the consequences of messing with the gender balance struck me.

The cause of the uneven boy-girl ratio is directly linked to the medical safety of modern abortion practices. It is far easier to abort a fetus you've never met than to kill a baby that's already born. The number abortions has dropped the female population in some areas by 30%. While female infanticide is nothing new, this gaping imbalance suggests that abortions have made the decision easier. It was heart wrenching for as a viewer to watch orphanages collect the unwanted baby girls that had been abandoned. The younger babies had it easier since the older babies were often abused and malnourished, all the while crying for their parents. The report made it clear that these new abortion practices are happening in all classes and strata of society. This phenomenon is not restricted to only the poor or uneducated.

The first generation with these reduced numbers is now old enough to marry. So many of the eligible men cannot find wives simply because there are not enough women. Women, as a commodity, are becoming rare. The men who realize they have no hope of finding a wife tend to become depressed or become addicted to drugs or alcohol or turn to crime to increase their financial standing. Ironically, if or when these men do finally marry, they still prefer boys, thereby perpetuating the system that has made their lives hell. The dowry continues to make women a liability in the societies that ask for a dowry. Fathers wouldn’t dream of, say, asking for money for their daughters because of the long standing attitudes on the worthlessness of women.

The documentary ended with the typical doomsday “something must be done or else” message. For the first time in a long time, I disagree. Something must not be done. This is justice for the men who feel that their daughters “are not worth the rice they feed them”. This is justice for not giving women rights or respect. This is justice for the pain the wives have felt in aborting the babies that they wanted to keep. So I say let the men continue to press their wives to have only boys. Let these men drown in their worthiness and live in society without women.