On 14th January The Independent newspaper released its findings on its investigation into the issue of sex selective abortion taking place in the United Kingdom. The investigation found that the illegal abortion of female foetuses in some ethnic communities so that families instead have sons has led to the female population of England and Wales, as given from the 2011 National Census, being between 1400 and 4700 fewer than would be expected given the normal 50:50 birth ratio. The UK government previously conducted its own investigation into whether UK residents who were born abroad were more likely to abort female foetuses but found no evidence to support this. However given The Independent’s investigation, has prompted the government to look again at its findings. Additionally, a debate has opened up regarding whether women should be allowed to know the sex of their baby within the legal abortion limit.
While the issue of making it illegal for a woman to find out the sex of her unborn child may seem a strange notion in a country such as the UK, where freedom of choice is valued, there have been those who argue that rather than undermining women’s rights by denying her the chance to find out her baby’s sex, the practice would help to protect the rights of women. The argument goes that some women in ethnic communities in the UK are pressurised into aborting female foetuses because their husband and in-laws want a son and do not want a daughter. If they refuse to abort the foetus, women sometimes claim to have been physically harmed by relatives such as being pushed down the stairs so that they miscarry. Other women have been divorced by their husbands after failing to produce a son.
The reasoning behind the desire for families to have sons rather than daughters can be partly explained by cultural practices. Firstly, it is often expected that sons will look after their parents in their old age whereas daughters will take care of her husband’s family. If a mother has only daughters then there is a fear that they will no one to care for them in future years. Additionally, in some communities dowries are still used. Families contribute a dowry upon their daughter’s marriage but not that of their sons; essentially, girls are expensive.
Two potential solutions to the problem have been brought to the fore. One solution is to ban all women from finding out her baby’s sex prior to the legal abortion limit. (Some NHS trusts have already instated a policy where they will not reveal a baby’s sex at any stage of pregnancy – see link). It has been claimed that such a ban can protect vulnerable women who might otherwise be harmed by their relatives if they discovering they are carrying a female foetus. In addition to protecting the pregnant woman they would also protect the unborn child. However, this could be said to be harming the rights of women who wish to find out the sex of their unborn child for completely innocent reasons. Although it could be argued that the rights of an unborn child outweigh those of a woman who wishes to find out the sex of her child just so she can decide which colour to paint the nursery. (Of course, women whose child may be affected by a sex-specific genetic condition should be exempt). This has led to calls for women of specific ethnic backgrounds to be singled out. However, there is no way of telling whether a woman would rather have a boy or girl just by how she looks and so it would be difficult for hospital trusts to carry out this policy without appearing to be racially motivated. In addition, either policy would only have an impact on families with limited finances. Anyone else would be able to visit private clinics or travel outside the country for a scan. Finally, even those women who did not have the financial means to discover the sex of the foetus could end up being shunned by their family and divorced from their husband after having given birth to a girl.
The issue of sex selective abortion raises many questions related both to the rights of women to find out the sex of their child and the right to have a girl without threat of reprisals from her husband and family, those who she is supposed to be able to go to for support. It cannot be right that the rights of some are taken away to protect the rights of others. The only way to solve this problem is education; to make it known that it is males who decide the sex of their children, not females and that it makes no sense to hold the woman responsible. Education is also required to ensure that daughters are not seen as less valuable than sons, even if this means calling into question long-held cultural values.
About the blogger
Lauren Pascu is completing a Masters degree in International Relations at the University of Glasgow. She is also a Political and Social Journalist at Affairs Today and a Contributor at ‘One World, Many Voices – A Global Conversation’
To comply with the order of a man with dignity can use tracking tools, it will help him to identify fraud. catch a cheating spouse has always been a matter of strong vanym husband.
