| Part of a series on |
| Violence against women |
|---|
| Murder |
| Sexual assault and rape |
| Disfigurement |
| Other issues |
|
| International legal framework |
| Related topics |
Female infanticide has long been a common practice in Pakistan due to a number of cultural factors. Official statistics show the rate of infant mortality has been decreasing, [1] but these numbers would not include infanticide, which is rarely reported and even more rarely investigated. [2]
During the 19th century in British India, one-fourth of the population preserved only half its daughters, while the remaining three-quarters of the population had a balanced sex ratio with 118 males per 100 females. This is comparable to the late 20th century sex ratio in the region, now divided between India and Pakistan. [3]
Among Kharal people, female infanticide was common. A report from 1884 states: [4]
The Kharrals are the most northerly of the great Ravi tribes, occupying a great portion of the land between Gugera and the Lahore district on both sides of the river, and extending some distance into the Gujranwala district. The Kharrals were Rajputs... and never got on with each other. The feuds of the Lakheras and upper Ravi Kharrals have been noticed. The tragic adventure of Mirza and Sahiban is said to have been the cause of desperate quarrels. Mirza was a Kharral of the Sahi muhin... went as a boy to Khewa in Jhang, where he fell in love with his cousin Sahiban, the daughter of the chief man of the place. Her parents betrothed her to a youth of the Chadar tribe, but before the marriage could place, Mirza ran away with her. He was pursued and slain. Her relations strangled Sahiban... These murders were cause of such bloody feuds between the clans that it at the length was thought inauspicious to have daughters, and as soon as they were born, they were strangled as Sahiban had been. This custom of female infanticide was common among the Kharrals till Colonel Hamilton, Commissioner of Multan, persuaded them to discontinue it.
This report is cited in a 2010 book on son preference, giving the context of the Mirza Sahiban tragic romance, and putting the practice in a wider socio-economic analysis. [5]
Similarly to other countries in South Asia, Pakistani households have a strong preference for sons. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Parent fertility remains incomplete until and unless the desired number of boys are born. [8] Son preference prevails in rural areas, due to male inheritance of agricultural land, and males being seen as better suited to work the land. Boys are often given better access to resources, healthcare, and education. Prenatal sex-selection is more common among the upper classes who have access to medical care and technology, while abuse after birth (infanticide and abandonment) is more common among the lower classes. Girls who are unwanted are often forced into early marriage. [11] [12] Son preference has effect on the status of Pakistani women. Women bearing at least one son have higher say in household decision-making. [7] According to Pakistani surveys and statistics, Pakistan has witnessed 40 million abortion of female children in the past 50 years.
Families often do not want daughters because they are expected to pay dowry upon their marriage. The giving and expectation of a dowry is part of the culture, with most marriages in every region of Pakistan involving transfer of a dowry from the bride's family to a groom's family. [13] Conflicts related to dowry often lead to violence. At over 2000 dowry-related deaths per year, and annual rates exceeding 2.45 deaths per 100,000 women from dowry-related violence, Pakistan has the highest reported number of dowry death rates per 100,000 women in the world. [14] [15] Dowries exist across all levels of Pakistani society as it is an issue of honor for the bridegroom and his family. Brides who do not meet the dowry expectations of in-laws are often humiliated and physically abused. In some cases brides have been killed. [16]
Pakistan has a strong 'culture of honor', where a female can easily tarnish the 'honor' and 'reputation' of her family through certain behaviors (often related to chastity), whether these behaviors are real or suspected by the community. The family honor is an abstract concept involving the perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects the social standing and the self-evaluation of a group of related people, both corporately and individually. [17] [18] The family is viewed as the main source of honor and the community highly values the relationship between honor and the family. [19] The conduct of family members reflects upon family honor and the way the family perceives itself, and is perceived by others. [18] Honor killings in Pakistan are known locally as karo-kari. An honor killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. The death of the victim is viewed as a way to restore the reputation and honour of the family. [20] In order to avoid such problems related to the honor culture, families reject altogether the idea of having daughters. [21]
Sex-selective abortion - the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the female sex of the fetus - is happening in Pakistan, although it is illegal. [22] [23] [24] Abortion is illegal in Pakistan, except if needed to preserve the pregnant woman' life or health. [25]
In 2017, two Pakistani organisations discovered large cases of infanticide in Pakistani cities. This was led by the Edhi Foundation and Chhipa Welfare Foundation. The infanticide was mainly almost all were female infants. The reason given by the local authorities were poverty and local customs, where boys are preferred to girls. However, the large discovery in Karachi shows that many of the female infants were killed because of the local Islamic clerics, who ordered out of wedlock babies should be disregarded. Babies born out of wedlock in Islam are considered a sin. [26]
From January 2017 to April 2018, Edhi Center foundation and Chhipa Welfare organisation have found 345 such new born babies dumped in garbage in Karachi only and 99 percent of them were girls.
"We have been dealing with such cases for years and there are a few such incidents which shook our souls as much. It left us wondering whether our society is heading back to primitive age," Anwar Kazmi, a senior manager in Edhi Foundation Karachi, told The News.
Edhi Foundation has found 355 such dead infants from the garbage dumps across the country in 2017; 99 percent of them were identified girls. And Karachi has topped in this notorious ranking with 180 cases in 2017. As many as 72 dead girls have been buried in the first four months of this year by Edhi Foundation alone in the metropolitan city. The given data is just tip of the iceberg as Edhi foundation maintains the data of those cities where it provides services. [26]
According to one estimate from the end of the 20th century, about 3.1 million girls are missing in Pakistan. [27] [28] The extent to which this is attributable to infanticide is contested; see Missing women of Asia.
In 1998, 391 infant girls were found dead, about 68 in 1999, 59 in 2000, 51 in 2001, and 39 in 2002. [29] The number of infanticides, particularly of girls, is on the increase, according to the Edhi Foundation. They know of 890 newborns killed in 2008, 999 in 2009 and about 1,210 in 2010, and this counts only the large cities. [30]
Infanticide is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of resources being spent on weak or disabled offspring. Unwanted infants were usually abandoned to die of exposure, but in some societies they were deliberately killed. Infanticide is generally illegal, but in some places the practice is tolerated, or the prohibition is not strictly enforced.
Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of East Asia and South Asia, as well as in the Caucasus, Western Balkans, and to a lesser extent North America. Based on the third National Family and Health Survey, results showed that if both partners, mother and father, or just the father, preferred male children, sex-selective abortion was more common. In cases where only the mother prefers sons, this is likely to result in sex-selective neglect in which the child is not likely to survive past infancy.
Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Female infanticide is prevalent in several nations around the world. It has been argued that the low status in which women are viewed in patriarchal societies creates a bias against females. The modern practice of gender-selective abortion is also used to regulate gender ratios.
Abdul Sattar EdhiNI LPP was a Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest ambulance network, along with homeless shelters, animal shelters, rehabilitation centres, and orphanages across Pakistan.
Bilquis Bano Edhi was a Pakistani nurse who helped save the lives of over 16,000 children. During her career as a nurse and marriage to Abdul Sattar Edhi, she was one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She was the co-chair of the Edhi Foundation, a charity organization that provided many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. For her contributions, she was awarded the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2015. She was also a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's second highest civilian honour. For her service to the country, she was also referred to as The Mother of Pakistan.
Sex selection is the attempt to control the sex of the offspring to achieve a desired sex. It can be accomplished in several ways, both pre- and post-implantation of an embryo, as well as at childbirth. It has been marketed under the title family balancing.
The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the time of recorded India's history. Their position in society underwent significant changes during India's ancient period, particularly in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions, and their subordination continued to be reified well into India's early modern period.
Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the 2017 census of Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have played an important role in Pakistani history and have had the right to vote since 1956. In Pakistan, women have held high office including Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, as well as federal ministers, judges, and serving commissioned posts in the armed forces, with Lieutenant General Nigar Johar attaining the highest military post for a woman. Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan on 2 December 1988.
Gendercide is the systematic killing of members of a specific gender. The term is related to the general concepts of assault and murder against victims due to their gender, with violence against men and women being problems dealt with by human rights efforts. Gendercide shares similarities with the term 'genocide' in inflicting mass murders; however, gendercide targets solely one gender, being men or women. Politico-military frameworks have historically inflicted militant-governed divisions between femicide and androcide; gender-selective policies increase violence on gendered populations due to their socioeconomic significance. Certain cultural and religious sentiments have also contributed to multiple instances of gendercide across the globe.
Gender inequality in India refers to health, education, economic and political inequalities between men and women in India. Various international gender inequality indices rank India differently on each of these factors, as well as on a composite basis, and these indices are controversial.
In the context of human demographics, the term "missing women" indicates a shortfall in the number of women relative to the expected number of women in a region or country. It is most often measured through male-to-female sex ratios, and is theorized to be caused by sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, and inadequate healthcare and nutrition for female children. It is argued that technologies that enable prenatal sex selection, which have been commercially available since the 1970s, are a large impetus for missing female children.
Female foeticide in India is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal methods. A research by Pew Research Center based on Union government data indicates foeticide of at least 9 million females in the years 2000–2019. The research found that 86.7% of these foeticides were by Hindus, followed by Sikhs with 4.9%, and Muslims with 6.6%. The research also indicated an overall decline in preference for sons or daughter in the time period.
China has a history of female infanticide which spans 2,000 years. When Christian missionaries arrived in China in the late sixteenth century, they witnessed newborns being thrown into rivers or onto rubbish piles. In the seventeenth century Matteo Ricci documented that the practice occurred in several of China's provinces and said that the primary reason for the practice was poverty. The practice continued into the 19th century and declined precipitously after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, but reemerged as an issue after the PRC government introduced the one-child policy in the early 1980s. The 2020 census showed a male-to-female ratio of 105.07 to 100 for mainland China, a record low since the People's Republic of China (PRC) began conducting censuses. Every year in the PRC and India alone, there are close to two million instances of some form of female infanticide.
Female infanticide in India has a history spanning centuries. Poverty, the dowry system, births to unmarried women, deformed infants, famine, lack of support services, and maternal illnesses such as postpartum depression are among the causes that have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of female infanticide in India.
For years, the census data in China has recorded a significant imbalance in the sex ratio toward the male population, meaning there are fewer women than men. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the missing women or missing girls of China. In 2021, China's official census report showed a sex ratio of 112 male to 100 female births, compared to a global average of 105 or 106 male to 100 female births. This is down from a high of 118 male to 100 female births from 2002 to 2008. The sex imbalance in some rural areas is higher, at 130 boys to 100 girls.
Violence against women in India refers to physical or sexual violence committed against a woman, typically by a man.
Sex-selective abortion is the act of aborting a child due to its predicted sex. This practice gained popularity in the mid-1980s to early 1990s in South Korea, where selective female abortions were commonplace as male children were preferred. As a result, South Koreans aborted a much higher number of female fetuses than male ones in the 1980s and early 1990s. Historically, much of Korea's values and traditions were based on Confucianism, which dictates a patriarchal system, thus motivating the preference for sons over daughters. Additionally, even though the abortion ban existed, the combination of son preference and availability of sex-selective technology led to an increasing number of sex-selective abortions and boys born. As a result, South Korea experienced drastically high sex ratios around mid-1980s to early 1990s. However, in recent years, with the changes in family policies and modernization, attitudes towards son preference have changed, normalizing the sex ratio and lowering the number of sex-selective abortions. Additionally, during the entire 20th century South Korean women benefitted greatly from gender inequality declining at one of the fastest rates worldwide. However, there has been no explicit data collected on the number of induced sex selective abortions performed due to the abortion ban and controversy surrounding the topic. Therefore, scholars have been continuously analyzing and generating connections among sex-selection, abortion policies, gender discrimination, and other cultural factors.
The gender gap in Pakistan refers to the differences between men and women in Pakistan in terms of social, political, and economic participation and rights. The gender gap uses the gender ratio of Pakistan to compare the disparities between men and women in different fields, which mainly disadvantage women. According to the Global Gender Gap Index 2022, Pakistan ranks second to last in terms of the Gender Gap, with only 56.4% of its gender gap closed, a 0.8 percentage point increase from 2021. By percentage, men form about 51.46% and women form about 48.54% of the total population of Pakistan. The sex ratio of Pakistan is 106.010, that means there are about 106 men for every 100 women in Pakistan. The gender gap in Pakistan includes comparisons of gender differences in health, educational, legal, economical, and political aspects.
The #MeToo movementin Pakistan is modeled after the international #MeToo movement and began in late 2018 in Pakistani society. It has been used as a springboard to stimulate a more inclusive, organic movement, adapted to local settings, and has aimed to reach all sectors, including the lowest rungs of society.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)