Female infanticide in Pakistan

World map of birth sex ratios, 2012

Female infanticide in Pakistan is a common practice. Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Aid groups have reported that hardly any steps have been taken in Pakistan for preventing infanticide, especially among poor people.[1]

History

During the 19th century, the Northwest British India one-fourth of the population preserved only half the daughters, while other 3/4th of the population had balanced sex ratio. There were 118 males per 100 females. This is comparable to the late C20th sex ratio in the area, now divided between India and Pakistan.[2]

Among Kharal people, female infanticide was common. A report from 1884 states:

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.

[3]

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.[4]

Son preference

Similarly to other countries in South Asia, Pakistan has a strong social preference for sons. Such 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.[5][6]

Dowry

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.[7] 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.[8][9]

Culture of family honor

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.[10][11] The family is viewed as the main source of honor and the community highly values the relationship between honor and the family.[12] The conduct of family members reflects upon family honor and the way the family perceives itself, and is perceived by others.[11] 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.[13] In order to avoid such problems related to the honor culture, families reject altogether the idea of having daughters.[14]

Sex selective abortion

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.[15][16][17] Abortion is illegal in Pakistan, except if needed to preserve the pregnant woman' life or health.[18]

Prevalence

According to one estimate from the end of the 20th century, about 3.1 million girls are missing in Pakistan.[19][20] 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.[21] 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.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mariya Karimjee (2014-01-14). "Infanticide is on the rise in Pakistan | Al Jazeera America". America.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  2. ↑ Hughes, Nancy Scheper (1987). Child Survival: Anthropological Perspectives on the Treatment and Maltreatment of Children. Springer. p. 99. ISBN 9781556080289.
  3. ↑ Gazetteer of the Montgomery District. 1884. pp 62-63
  4. ↑ Purewal, Navtej K. Son Preference: Sex Selection, Gender and Culture in South Asia. Berg. p. 33. ISBN 9781845204686.
  5. ↑ https://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/2015PGY_SexSelectionPakistan.pdf
  6. ↑ http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnadm056.pdf
  7. ↑ Zeba Sathar, Cynthia Lloyd, et al. (2001–2002) "Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan" pp.92-116, Population Council (with support from UNICEF)
  8. ↑ "Operational Note: Pakistan" (PDF). Refworld, A United Nations initiative. August 2011. pp. 16–21.
  9. ↑ "To estimate an equation explaining the determinants of Dowry". Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Bruce J. Malina (15 February 2001). The New Testament world: insights from cultural anthropology. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-664-22295-6. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  11. 1 2
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Goldstein, Matthew (2002). "The Biological Roots of Heat-of-Passion Crimes and Honor Killings". Politics and the Life Sciences. 21 (2): 31.
  14. ↑ https://iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/generaltheoryforgenderpreference%28BUSAN201308%29.pdf
  15. ↑ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/abandoned-aborted-or-left-for-dead-these-are-the-vanishing-girls-of-pakistan/258648/
  16. ↑ https://www.dawn.com/news/1191470
  17. ↑ https://iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/SRB%20Abstract%20-%20IUSSP%202013_fin.pdf
  18. ↑ http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/doc/pakistan.doc.
  19. ↑ Milner, Larry Stephen. Hardness of Heart/hardness of Life: The Stain of Human Infanticide. University Press of America. p. 223.
  20. ↑ Magma, Ann (2012). Female Terror. Random House. p. 103. ISBN 9781448132362.
  21. ↑ Andrea Parrot, Nina Cummings (2006). Forsaken Females: The Global Brutalization of Women. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 9780742580428.
  22. ↑ AFP. "Infanticide on the rise: 1,210 babies found dead in 2010, says Edhi – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
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