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GENDER INEQUALITY: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

Friday, 6th of January 2012

 

• GENDER INEQUALITY: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

Sep 19th 2011, 15:08 by The Economist online

Women and girls die prematurely in greater numbers than men

Best viewed at http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/gender-inequality

OVER a quarter of all excess female deaths occur in China at birth, says the World Bank's annual World Development Report, published on September 19th. The number has risen since 1990 from 890,000 to 1.1m. These are the numbers of extra girls who would have been born if the normal sex ratio at birth (105 boys to 100 girls) had prevailed in China. It does not do so because of the practice of sex-selective abortion. Aborted girls account for the largest single share of excess female deaths worldwide, but other sorts of death have been growing faster, notably those of women of child-bearing age in Africa. The excess deaths of African women aged 15 to 49 (when compared with female death rates in rich countries) rose by 150% between 1990 and 2008. The number of excess deaths in African countries with high rates of HIV-AIDS increased by 760%. Excess female mortality is shifting from birth in East Asia to adulthood in Africa.

 

Read also: "Growth is not enough"

Correction: We mistakenly said that the natural sex ratio at birth is 105 girls to 100 boys when it is, of course, 105 boys to 100 girls. This was corrected on September 19th.

 

READERS’ COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Connect The Dots Sep 19th 2011 15:32 GMT

For all of you who decry the Malthusian Over Population of the Planet, you should rejoice in Excess Female Deaths. Population Growth is determined principally by the number of Women in the Population. Less women means less babies in future generations.

But as women are also 10 times less likely to be violent or criminals, know that this also augurs for a more average crime and a more violent population. More War. More Rape. More Psycho Killers.

Nature has a natural balance. Tinker with it and it bites back.

claybro Sep 19th 2011 15:36 GMT

The deaths of females that die at birth is astonishing in China. It goes to show that though China is rising fast in becoming the richest and biggest state in the world, their values and their freedom is no where near the values of the United States and other civilized countries. This is a huge reason why many people still move to the United States even if we are in a recession.

Cincinnatus Americanus Sep 19th 2011 15:40 GMT

Is North America not included because the numbers aren't significant? It might have been nice to include it anyway.

manbearpiggy Sep 19th 2011 15:45 GMT

@khmTzic3YT
"Population Growth is determined principally by the number of Women in the Population. Less women means less babies in future generations"
That may be true for the animal kingdom in general but not in human societies. The societies with higher female:male ratios invariably have smaller population growth rates. Number of fertile wombs per-capita has no correlation with population growth rates. If at all there is a correlation, it is a reverse correlation.

manbearpiggy Sep 19th 2011 15:51 GMT

@claybro
The one-child policy probably takes much of the blame for the alarming number of at-birth female deaths in China. The preference for sons in south and east Asia is a well known fact. If the parents were allowed to have more than one child, then they would try again for a son if the first was a daughter. But if they are forced to have one-and-done they would abort before trying again for a son.
Not a set of values that a Westerner can relate to, for sure, but this is exacerbated by the governmental restrictions on reproductive rights

Prometeus Sep 19th 2011 16:01 GMT

@ Cincinnatus: Good point, if we want to access the entire world.
I even wonder about the category "Europe & Central Asia".
You'd expect huge differences between Western Europe, Eastern-Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
Norway and Tadzjikistan in one category can't make much sense.

@ Claybro: Exactly. Living in a country where the number of men significantly exceeds the number of women, is hell for both sexes.

@ khmTzic3YT: It's a very high price to pay for combating overpopulation.
Considering both all the cases of individual suffering and the global effect of this tendency, the "solution" would be much worse than the problem.

As for Chinese government, due to the rising wealth, shrinking and greying population and numerical imbalance between the sexes, it should abolish the one-child policy, harshly punish infanticide, and give families financial help for every girl baby they put into this world.

great uncle clive Sep 19th 2011 16:33 GMT

Who is employed on this daily chart? Schoolgirls? You've got it wrong (again!). The normal sex ratio at birth is 105 boys to 100 girls. Everyone know that...

I remember my demography lecturer throwing out an incredible figure: More than 90% of fertilised eggs are spontaneously aborted in the first month of pregnancy, and they are all male. The womb is an incredibly hostile environment for boys; and only the fittest survive. (I have never heard that figure confirmed since. He would have trained in the Forties. It would be interesting if anyone can provide an update.)

The higher the ratio of boys to girls, the healthier the population. Women are thingies that men live for, fight for and work for. They are the highest form of property. They stimulate the men. Who need all the stimulating we can get on a Monday morning...

yBhJMLgQ9X Sep 19th 2011 16:39 GMT

If abortions are included in this table (the article suggests it could), then does the WB have a position on abortion, albeit tacitly through this report? They are classified as deaths in the table.

CusGoose Sep 19th 2011 16:54 GMT

The reason female deaths in China are so high is because of the enforcement of the one child policy. This plays many factors of why Chinese families abort their female babies. For starters, the Chinese want their name to carry on to the next generation, and the only way to do this is by having a male child. The Chinese also consider boys to be more helpful in farm lands and in jobs that parents pass down to their children. Finally, China's form of social security is that their daughter-in-laws will take care of them when their older. For that reason, Chinese parents want to have sons so that they can ensure that when their child gets married they will have that new daughter-in-law to take care of them when their older. If they only have a girl, then their daughter will leave them when she gets married and they will have nobody to care for them when they get older. With a strict enforcement of the one-child policy, most Chinese families will choose a male over a female. This is why China's death rate among women and girls has increased so much.

BurkeanPluralist Sep 19th 2011 17:09 GMT

Manbearpiggy (nice name),

Actually in China, people in the country side (i.e. the majority of the population) are allowed to have a second child if their first is a female. The penalty for having more than your allotted number of children is simply a fine which is quite affordable for middle class people (I know middle class, urban families with three daughters).
And, of course, sex selective abortion is illegal and it is even illegal for doctors to reveal a fetuses sex after an ultrasound (but of course most will if you pay a price).

The central problem isn't government policy, it is the fact that most Chinese people don't view sex selective abortion as a problem. In Chinese culture/traditional philosophy, a child's life (let alone the life of a fetus) is not a gift from a god; it is a gift from the child's parents. Since Chinese people view themselves as the creators of their children, having an abortion is seen as basically a moral non-issue.

Prometeus,

"As for Chinese government, due to the rising wealth, shrinking and greying population and numerical imbalance between the sexes, it should abolish the one-child policy, harshly punish infanticide, and give families financial help for every girl baby they put into this world."

In 20 years the percentage of people over the age of 65 in China is predicted to be 16% based on current trends. That compares to 20% in the USA and Russia, 32% in Japan, and something between that in the EU. They have not yet reached the point of a crisis.

"harshly punish infanticide"
The problem with that is that most of these deaths are abortions, not infanticides. Abortions are legal and well-accepted in China and that is not going to change. It is impossible to prove a given abortion was sex-selective.

"financial help for every girl baby they put into this world."
That WOULD work and would lead to more women in China. That would actually be a very effective way to rectify the gender imbalance.

For the actual "one-child" policy. I don't think anyone should get their hopes up about it changing. Within China, it is well accepted and recognized as necessary. The reality is that there are finite amount of resources in the world and a finite amount of land. Overpopulation is a real thing (which you can feel from living in China or any other over-populated country) that truly does impact people and the world in a very negative way. The one-child policy has been effective at combating it in China. It needs to be continuously tweaked and modified (and it is), but I truly believe (as an American citizen who grew up in the USA and lives in China) that it is a necessary thing that other over populated
countries should emulate in accordance with their own conditions.

@manbearpiggy

that is exactly how the one child policy works in 90% of the country, if your first is a girl, you can try again at no penalty.

Pradyumna Sep 19th 2011 17:27 GMT

Economist has brought a Great point of concern to our notice, with this chart! But, "Absolute values in thousands" provide very less data for any kind of analysis or understanding. Data as a "Percent of overall Population" at each stage would provide a better data point to understand the whole issue. China & India have a lot more population than any other group in the chart. That in itself will Skew the Data presented for Excess female deaths.

trod927 Sep 19th 2011 17:52 GMT

*Number of female deaths relative to male deaths compared with rates in rich countries.
Now what constitutes a "rich country"? Although this is a great chart to display the shift in female mortality in both different countries and at different ages, it would be nice to know more specifically how the numbers were found. Anyways, I do believe that China's overpopulation issues are being addressed with the one-child policy, but there should also be a way of avoiding this (such as living in the country rather than the city).

gman92 Sep 19th 2011 18:04 GMT

This is just sad, especially in Africa. In today's world, we have the know-how and technology to prevent so many deaths caused by diseases through vaccination. Maybe someday, aid will be able to reach these disease stricken countries despite national, international, cultural, etc. borders.

sclark91@vt.edu Sep 19th 2011 18:39 GMT

These numbers say much about the lack of value placed on women in some cultures, I think it could also have to do with the fact that a family would place less importance of healthcare for a female family member if women are thought to be less important.

Country Boy Sep 19th 2011 18:45 GMT

How sad that China resorts to such inhumane form of population control.
Yet... if you compared the number of child deaths in America Vs the developed world, the USA comes in last with the highest rate of infant mortality. Funny thing... America is the richest country on earth while China has one of the lowest GDP per capita.
So... who is worse?

doggettr Sep 19th 2011 19:02 GMT

The high amount of female deaths in China and astonishing yet not surprising. Everyone has heard of the one child policy and how differently gender is viewed different in regions such as China. Its going to be difficult to change practices such as sex-selective abortions or simply changing the mindsets of Chinese about the image of women because it has been a part of their culture and up-bringing. The Chinese government for one is going to have a hard time enforcing any laws that target women, but also trying to change a cultural aspect people through government policy. I'm not saying it shouldn't be tried or attempted, but it is going to be an uphill battle.

KOforLiddell Sep 19th 2011 19:15 GMT

This is very interesting, especially because you always hear about how the world has more girls than boys. I heard a statistic saying the ratio is as 120:100 in certain parts of China. I would really like to hear China's stance on these statistics. Would they try and change things to get a better ratio, or are they such a male-centric society that they won't care? I'd be inclined to argue that they will take a "no-comment" stance on the issue.

lewe2014 Sep 19th 2011 19:50 GMT

It is crazy how many women and girls are dying because of so many different things. If people in Africa could afford treatment for HIV/aids, like we can here, then maybe their death rates wouldn't be so high. Also, the number of deaths elsewhere for women and girls shows that even though some of the places are more populated, and are growing, the United States still has the "best" values of freedom and liberty for the people.

bulldoze Sep 19th 2011 20:08 GMT

Anyone else notice that the excess in all age groups is higher in low-HIV countries than in high-HIV ones? Higher HIV goes with more AIDS deaths and more orphans. It ought to be the other way round. Anyone have any idea why?