The cover story of the March 6, 2010 issue of The Economist on gendercide is a topic that has been the subject of research and conferences such as the 2007 Asia-Pacific conference. At the latter, experts had painted an “apocalyptic” vision in the Region where 163 million women were reported to have been missing and where the sex ratio at birth (SRB) continues to decline as a result of easy access to modern selection techniques. China was shown to have a skewed SRB of 100 females for every 120 males with India not far behind. An underlying reason is the age-old bias for sons, and poor social security in rural areas, and arguments such as little recognition to women’s work, especially at the household level, when there is unequal resource sharing, and where women are paid less than their male counterparts. Gendercide, the result of sex-selective abortions practiced in China and India, was originally seen as an unintended consequence of China’s one-child policy or as a product of poverty and ignorance.

But it is more than just policy as the Economist story which paints a picture of the “the worldwide war on baby girls” points out. The article cites social consequences of gendercide, and the growth of a bachelor surplus or “bare branches.” Early this year, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reported that within 10 years, one of five men would be unable to find a bride because of the dearth of young women. Nick Eberstadt, a demographer further noted that the that real cause of gendercide, is “the fateful collision between overweening son preference, the use of rapidly spreading prenatal sex determination technology and declining fertility.”

Even polling evidence gathered in several Asian countries shows a preference for sons. The imperative to produce a son comes with the drive to preserve wealth and have someone continue the family line.

Modernization and rising incomes had made it easier to select the sex of one’s children. But 20 years of rising sex ratios have shown observable negative consequences. The doubling of crime rate, bride abduction, trafficking of women, rape, prostitution, and slavery, especially in countries surrounding China is often attributed to this powerful driving force – gender imbalance. There has also been a rise in authoritarianism in the attempt to crack down on crime, gangs, and smuggling. The article reports about the appearance of tens of thousands of “extra-birth guerilla troops” – couples from one-child family areas in China who live in a legal limb, shifting restlessly from city-to city to shield their two or three children from the authorities’ baleful eyes. Female suicides in China are among the highest in the world. The young mothers who killed themselves say they cannot live with the knowledge that they have aborted or killed their baby daughters.

Among the recent developments include the reversal of cultural preference for sons in South Korea and that the two giants are doing more than they ever did to persuade people to treat girls equally through anti-discrimination laws and media campaigns.

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As part of its bicentennial celebration, the Hospicio de San Jose is holding its Grand Annual Alumni Homecoming this Sunday, March 14. Sr. Socorro Evidente, Hospicio director who recently was awarded the prestigious Wango Centennial Award for Service to Humanity, invites all alumni to participate in the all-day celebration consisting of recollections, games, election of officers, and ending with a Pasinaya: Hospicio de San Jose Through the Years at 7:30 p.m. My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com.