India’s rape crisis: A result of sex selection?
India’s 2011 census showed 914 females to one thousand males, the most skewed ratio since India’s independence in 1947. In some regions, such as the Northern state of Haryana, there are only 830 females to 1000 males. More than twenty years ago, Nobel prize winner economist Amartya Sen warned of more than 100 million “missing” girls from India as a result of this preference for male children.
The imbalance has squeezed poor and uneducated men out of the marriage market in particular, so there is a surplus of young men who are unable to find partners and assume standard adult roles in their societies. According to the Economist, China has nearly as many unmarried young men, known as ‘bare branches,’ as the entire population of American men. Ironically, the men themselves are harmed by the gender preference shown to them: unbalanced sex ratios may also increase the odds of ill health and early death in men. Something similar has been observed in a number of animal species: it is stressful to compete for mates and this stress can shorten lives.
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China has too many men while Russian women are outnumbering men due to men dying very early.
There are interesting times ahead when all the men in these dude-heavy nations start getting restless.
Bishop on January 6, 2013 at 6:56 PM
This is a disgusting and inane theory.
Blake on January 6, 2013 at 6:59 PM
How so? When things are in severe equilibrium, why shouldn’t we expect dysfunction?
Increasing numbers of western women are debasing and degrading themselves, but they used to serve a function in civilizing men.
obladioblada on January 6, 2013 at 7:05 PM
But isn’t this the reason that the left has been pushing that gay is okay?…All trends eventually trickle down from the western world to China….
albill on January 6, 2013 at 7:07 PM
Dear Ms. Christakis:
Pro-life advocates recognized this problem quite a while ago and have been sounding the alarm. India is not the only country in which this is happening.
I noticed that no where in your column do you suggest any solutions. Such as working to stop abortion (Pro-life is anathema!). You didn’t even offer any analysis as to why this has happened (Saying that all cultures are not the same is anathema!).
Please examine the results of your ideology, and get a clue.
Sincerely,
Someone who wishes Leftists would use logic in their thinking.
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:08 PM
It is a problem of real magnitude.
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:09 PM
Aren’t you asking for way too much?
arnold ziffel on January 6, 2013 at 7:13 PM
Ha ha. You’re right.
Even if they get caught in their wake of destruction, they seldom if ever put 2 and 2 together.
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:22 PM
This is from April 2007. I think it’s the oldest post on sex-selection abortion at Jill Stanek’s blog.
http://www.jillstanek.com/2007/04/paradox/
May 2008:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2008/05/hindu-group-cites-funeral-practices-as-leading-driver-of-female-feticide/
January 2010:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2010/01/chinas-abortion-induced-gender-imbalance/
That ought to give you pause. I simply can’t imagine what that will do to a country.
One last one:
April 2011:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/04/new-10-year-india-census-sex-ratio-worst-in-recorded-history/
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:26 PM
This is from April 2007. I think it’s the oldest post on sex-selection abortion at Jill Stanek’s blog.
http://www.jillstanek.com/2007/04/paradox/
May 2008:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2008/05/hindu-group-cites-funeral-practices-as-leading-driver-of-female-feticide/
April 2011:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/04/new-10-year-india-census-sex-ratio-worst-in-recorded-history/
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:27 PM
And when they do, it usually adds up to either 3 or 5…
SWalker on January 6, 2013 at 7:27 PM
January 2010:
This is alarming:
http://www.jillstanek.com/2010/01/chinas-abortion-induced-gender-imbalance/
That ought to give you pause. I simply can’t imagine what that will do to a country.
INC on January 6, 2013 at 7:27 PM
“Gendercide” is as close as the author gets to the ‘A’-word.
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on January 6, 2013 at 8:01 PM
As there has been no ID on anyone, it is safe to presume the rapists were Muslim and the victim was not. So what’s a dhimmie country to do. It’s too late to grow beards or become army psychiatrists and delay forever so India has got nothing. But they may pull off “workplace violence” if the bus driver was involved.
BL@KBIRD on January 6, 2013 at 8:19 PM
By 2020 there will probably be 24,000,000 marriageable semi-ex Muslim women/widows available.
BL@KBIRD on January 6, 2013 at 8:28 PM
So abortion is bad??
Illinidiva on January 6, 2013 at 8:32 PM
So abortion is bad??
Illinidiva on January 6, 2013 at 8:32 PM
Ironically, this Most Important Right of Women is leading to rape. Sin begets sin. Whooda thuk?
29Victor on January 6, 2013 at 8:42 PM
Alas, I expect the author would prescribe more, rather than less abortion to solve the ‘problem’.
Knott Buyinit on January 6, 2013 at 8:48 PM
“so there is a surplus of young men who are unable to find partners and assume standard adult roles in their societies.”
Aww, they’re unable to find partners so they can assume their standard adult role in society, so they find other partners so they can assume their standard adult gang raping and murdering roles in society?
Dusty on January 6, 2013 at 9:16 PM
Why on earth would you presume this? New Dehli, where the rape occurred, is overwhelmingly Hindu(around 82%). Muslims are only 11-12% of the population.
cam2 on January 6, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Blake, pull your head out. This is precisely one of several things that WILL, I repeat, WILL happen when a nation gender-selects too much. You eventually end up with a lot of horny guys and not enough willing women to go around, and guess what? Some of those guys won’t be happy with Internet porn every Friday night!
I seriously expect to see a war caused by a huge gender imbalance, if not the return of bride raids.
There are very dire consequences when you have millions of men who should be marrying and starting families going through their horniest years with no release and no hope…all because so many baby girls were murdered.
MelonCollie on January 6, 2013 at 10:38 PM