In South Asia, sons are traditionally viewed as assets and daughters a liability
By Nita Bhalla
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Police in central India are looking for a man who allegedly murdered his newborn daughter by smashing her head on a cement floor because he was angry that his wife had not given birth to a son, the Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the 30-year-old man and his 25-year-old wife already had two daughters and he was angered when his wife produced a third.
"After a verbal fight with his wife he snatched the infant from her and killed her on the spot," Sub-Inspector Chouhan of Piplod police station in Madhya Pradesh state's Khandwa district was quoted as saying.
The same report said in another incident in the same state in the city of Indore, a woman alleged that her in-laws had fed her 15-month-old baby girl alcohol to kill the child, saying that she had "produced garbage".
In South Asia, sons are traditionally viewed as assets – breadwinners who will take care of the family, continue the family name, and perform the last rites of the parents, an important ritual in many faiths, say gender experts.
Daughters are often seen as a liability, as families have to pay substantial wedding dowries. Protecting their chastity is a major concern as pre-marital sex is seen to bring shame and dishonour on families.
Activists say deep-rooted patriarchal views and slow efforts to empower girls and women in the region have made it difficult to eradicate a strong preference for sons which exists in much of the region.
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