India has experienced gender inequality for close to a century. The figures of boys are always higher than those for girls. The main reason for this imbalance is sex selection where most families prefer having a boy child than a girl (Mohan, para. 4). Boys play a significant role in family’s tradition, and thus, a family is not complete without a male child. Sons inherit the family’s land, perform rituals for deceased parents, carry the family’s name to the next generation and provide for the parents in their old age (Mohan, para. 5). As a result, women perform selective sex abortion after determining the fetus’ gender. The government has warned hospitals against revealing the sex of the fetus, but some doctors do it for a fee. In India, boys are more educated than girls and most companies prefer to employ men. The technical courses are for men, and thus, they can earn more.
As a result, the county’s economy does not grow as it would desire. Women play a significant role in building the economy of a country. Countries that have empowered women has high economic growth rate. Due to the gender imbalance ratio, families with boys are forced to save more resources so that they can secure a spouse for the man. Excessive saving prevents people from investing in income generating projects and thus, leads to reduced economic growth. Parents convince their girls to get married to men from wealthy families; thus, it becomes hard for the poor to get a wife. In the end, there is an increase in women trafficking among the poor men who cannot afford to pay the bride price. The unemployed men are also increasingly joining crime as a means of looking for more money to meet the demands of the scarce ladies. Insecurity drags the economy of a country behind as investors move away from such a place. Families with boys are more economically stable than those with girls because there are more opportunities to make money for men in India (Mohan, para. 7). The current policies to restore the gender balance do not seem to be working, and thus, the government should consider revising them to avoid hurting the economy.
- Mohan, Madan. L. “Gender imbalance in India: Causes and consequences.” Retrieved 12 April 2017 from http://globalhindus.com/gender-imbalance-in-indiacauses-and-consequences/
