Men in China outnumber women significantly

Christina Thompson

Topic: Gender and Family Issues

August 17, 2006 Article 1

An article to be published in the South China Morning Post, August 18, 2006 reported that men in China outnumber women significantly. There is a sharp gender imbalance between the number of new born girls and boys. The author has attributed this problem to the male dominated society that is in China. Women are not highly prized because families are dependant on males to bring money and stability to the family. The abortion of baby girls in Guangdong and Hainan China is very high. The government is not helping the problem by its one child per family policy. Families are desperate for boys since they are considered more valuable than girls. If they have more than one child then they aren’t given the government support that most need.
This problem cannot be fixed without the removal of social discrimination against women in China. Women are not being given the same opportunities as men and thus not able to show their full potential as being extremely valuable additions to a family. Although the article sites that this problem isn’t as bad as it was, the rural areas of China have not changed that much. Women in rural areas are still pressured to have baby boys over girls. The government can help this problem by advocating families to have women and give them the education and job opportunities they will need to succeed. I blame the government and backward cultural tradition for this imbalance in gender in China.
WORKS CITED:
Li , Raymond. "Alarm sounded on gender imbalance 10pc of men will struggle to find a mate in 20 years: experts." LexisNexis. Reed Elsevier Inc. 18 Aug 2006.
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