It’s illegal, but it’s happening every day–ultrasound tests facilitate the death and destruction of girls before birth.
Gendercide, killing mass numbers of girls whether through abortion or infanticide, is a problem in China and other parts of the world. But India’s girls are particularly at risk; research from the 2011 census shows the sex ratio has dipped to a 60-year low of 914 females to every 1000 males.
Another problem caused by the deaths of so many girls is that it also jeopardizes the lives of men who must deal with a shortage of partners as the society matures.
Donna Rice is a writer and speaker who serves as Spokesperson and Executive Board Advisor for Gendersave, an organization working in India seeking to save, empower and bring value to girls in the developing world.
We talked with Donna about the cultural context of why this problem exists, and the arduous task of reshaping culture as part of the solution.
