Sex Selection

People all around the world belonging to different communities prefer to have a baby boy over a girl. Although it is very anachronistic, it is true that such a desire still persists in our so called modern, enlightened society. The reasons for this are different in every society and community. The medical profession further facilitates this practice by introducing different techniques that help in getting a baby boy and avoiding a baby girl. This has resulted in a never seen before skewed sex ratio which has on occasions engendered numerous social problems in some societies.

The reasons of preferring a baby boy over a baby girl differs from individual to individual. But the basic reason behind this shameful desire is that even today, people have not been able to break the shackles of old thoughts. They tend to think that boys are superior to girls in all aspects and therefore their inclination towards having a baby boy increases. The thinking that instigates this desire is that a boy is able to showcase the name and the honor of the family in the society in a better way. These societies follow the thinking that a boy means a way to carry the familys name. Some also claim that boys are best as they are easy to raise. They can be whatever they have to be while girls have to confirm to some unspoken norms of the society. They also treat boys as superior because they consider them the bread winners while girls are looked upon as dependents.

The other factor behind this phenomenon is the medical history of a family. Sometimes a family is prone to deadly diseases which only affect women. And as the disease is passed from one generation to another, it becomes imperative to stop such an occurrence. Therefore, such families prefer boys instead of girls. But it is still a wrong notion in the mind of family members. It is not mandatory that every girl child will get infected from the same disease. Hence, it is another factor which is not a very strong reason to justify preference for a boy.

All these factors have given a rise to the popularity of gender selection techniques. This has not only increased the discrimination between the two genders but has also given rise to crimes against women. No matter what the reasons are behind this problem, the fact of the matter is that preferring a boy over a girl is an highly unethical act to do. No matter how many arguments we give in favor of this practice, there is no denying that if this practice is not stopped then mankind is going to face a very bleak future.