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"By
joining efforts we can surpass the injustices
inflicted on the girl child and boy child alike.
If left untreated, these forces will permanently
scar our children and threaten the healthy growth
of nations."
-
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
(presented
for our book on Discrimination Against the Girl
Child)
While children around the world continue to face
various forms of adversity in the 21 st century,
girl children in particular are subjected to multiple
forms of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination
due to their gender. United Nations statistics,
national reports and studies initiated by non-governmental
organizations repeatedly show that girls, as a
group, have lower literacy rates, receive less
health care, and are more often impoverished than
boys.[1] It is also important to note these conditions,
more often than not, do not improve as girls grow
to become women.
Forms of discrimination against girl children
are numerous and vary depending on the traditions,
history, and culture of a particular society.
In our work to improve the condition of girls,
Youth Advocate Program International focuses on
three life-threatening practices that impact the
lives of millions of girl children – female
infanticide, female genital cutting, and honor
killing.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
defines a child as a person under the age of 18
unless national laws recognize the age of majority
earlier. The age of 18 is now accepted as the
world standard, since every country has ratified
the CRC except Somalia and the United States .
Although YAP International specifically advocates
for ending discrimination against girls, we realize
efforts to curtail gender discrimination must
include strategies that continue to support women
when they reach and pass age 18.
Female infanticide is the murder of a young girl
child, often occurring as a deliberate murder
of a girl infant or young girl child or as the
result of neglect. Selective abortion –
also called gender-selective abortion, sex-selective
abortion, or female feticide – is the abortion
of a fetus because it is female. Medical technology
has made it possible for parents to discover the
sex of a fetus at earlier and earlier stages of
pregnancy, so many women from communities with
a preference for boys practice selective abortion.
These practices occur most frequently in societies
where a girl child is viewed as culturally and
economically less advantageous than a boy child.
Female infanticide has been reported in China,
North Korea, South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Pakistan), the Middle East (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan,
Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey) and parts
of Africa (Cameroon, Liberia, Madagascar, Senegal,
Nigeria).
Female infanticide and feticide are predominantly
practiced in regions of significant poverty and
overpopulation. One reason boys are more valued
than girls is preserving lineage, as family lineage
and family name are carried only by males in most
societies. Also, children are expected to care
for parents in their old age in many countries,
so raising a son becomes a better investment because
once a girl marries, she becomes the property
of her husband and of virtually no value to her
parents. Some women resort to female infanticide
and feticide in order to protect their daughters
from a life of objectification and subjugation
in a society dominated by men, where there is
a prevalent anti-girl attitude.
Economically,
girls often have a lower earning potential than
boys, as boys are more likely to find work and
receive higher pay. This is significant in poor
communities where each family member is expected
to add to the household income. A girl can no
longer contribute to her family's income after
marriage when she must turn all of her wages over
to her husband. In many situations, it is much
more of an economic burden to raise a girl, as
many cultures require religious and social ceremonies
for girls but not boys. Holding a “proper”
ceremony for the purpose of maintaining respectable
social stature can be very expensive, often leaving
poor families with nothing.
Mothers are not the only perpetrators of female
infanticide and feticide, as more dominant members
of the immediate family, such as the husband or
mother-in-law, often encourage or carry out the
deed. In addition, women may experience pressure
from members of their community, possibly facing
physical abuse, disownment from their husband
or parents, and homelessness if they choose to
keep a child against the direction of others.
A wealth of information on female infanticide
and selective abortion has come from the world's
two most populous nations: India and China . Both
countries are predominantly patriarchal, and it
is the cultural norm for a girl to leave her family
for her husband's after marriage. India continues
the practice of dowry, although illegal, which
makes female children especially undesirable as
large sums of money must be paid at the time of
marriage. For this reason, female infanticide
is especially prevalent in rural areas and among
lower castes. In China , with the induction of
the People's Republic in 1949, the practice of
female infanticide was largely abandoned.[2] However,
cases of “missing” women increased
in the 1980's, a phenomenon correlated with the
one child policy that was launched in 1979 to
control exorbitant population growth.[3] With
this stringent law, many families chose to keep
a boy child over a girl child because sons can
take care of their parents through old age, while
daughters are handed over to another person's
family.
Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide
have had consequences beyond the loss of many
females' lives. They have contributed to the dramatic
change in the ratio of men to women in some countries.
As fewer men can find women to marry in societies
where these practices are widespread, the trafficking
of women from foreign countries to sell as wives
has become a profitable business. Some adoption
agencies take advantage of the devaluation of
girls and solicit impoverished families to sell
their daughters so they may be adopted overseas.
Countries like India and China have criminalized
female infanticide, although local law enforcement
often ignores cases. For example, many doctors
in China and India , whose practices are limited
to providing sex-selective abortion, are not reprimanded.
As legislation and law enforcement cannot guarantee
the elimination of these practices, public awareness
of the issues and grassroots support of local
communities are essential to prevent and eradicate
female infanticide and sex-selective abortion.
Progress has been made in India where the government
has taken steps to implement programs to educate
the public and have encouraged NGOs to take action
against these practices.
Female Genital Cutting (FGC) refers to any practice
that involves the removal or the alteration of
the female genitalia. It is a centuries-old cultural
practice found in many countries among people
following various religions and beliefs, but is
most prevalent in Africa . Other terms for FGC
include female genital mutilation, female genital
circumcision, female genital operations, or clitoridectomies.
According to the United Nations Population Fund,
“it is estimated that over 130 million girls
and women have undergone some form of genital
cutting and at least two million girls are at
risk of undergoing the practice every year.”[4]
FGC is reportedly practiced in 28 of Africa 's
43 countries, most pervasive in Egypt, Eritrea,
Mali, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.[5]
In the Middle East, FGC is found in Oman, Yemen,
and the United Arab Emirates . Some immigrant
populations in the United States, Latin America,
and Asia (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia)
practice FGC as well.
Studies done in areas where FGC is widespread
suggest there is a direct correlation between
a women's attitude toward FGC and her place of
residence, educational background, and work status.
According to the results of a health survey in
Egypt , urban women are less likely than rural
women to support FGC. There was less support for
FGC among women who were employed and among women
who had at least a secondary-level education.
Research on FGC shows there are short and long-term
health effects on girls. Immediate effects include
hemorrhaging, pain and shock; severe bleeding,
and the inability to urinate have caused the death
of many girls. Girls may develop infections such
as tetanus, hepatitis, and HIV. Chronic bladder
and pelvic infections, infertility, the development
of excessive scar tissue, cysts at the site of
the procedure, and problems during or after childbirth
are among the possible long-term complications.
In addition, sexual intercourse can be very painful
or dangerous after FGC, and many women become
unable to experience sexual fulfillment. Scientific
evidence for psychology effects of FGC on girls
is more scarce; however, personal accounts reveal
that girls who have undergone FGC may suffer from
anxiety, terror, humiliation, betrayal, and depression.[6]
Custom and tradition are the most frequently cited
reasons behind FGC.[7] Other factors include the
role of FGC in confirming femininity in some cultures,
controlling the sexual behavior of a woman, and
preserving aesthetics and cleanliness in cultures
that view parts of the female genitalia as dirty
or dangerous.[8] Religious justifications are
sometimes cited, mostly by Muslims who practice
FGC. However, the practice outdates Islam, the
majority of Muslims do not practice FGC, and some
Islamic leaders deny any link between their religion
and FGC. Most other FGC practicing communities
adhere to traditional Animist religions.[9]
Among the obstacles to eradicating the practice
of female genital cutting is the fact that many
women, often the victims of the procedure, consider
FGC a valuable cultural tradition, and in some
cases necessary to be eligible for marriage.
Fortunately, progress has been made though education,
legislation, and campaigns to raise awareness.
Research has shown a positive correlation between
the number of people attending secondary school
and the number of people opposed to FGC. Consequently,
with more educational opportunities for girls
in many countries, there will be more female opposition
to the procedure. Several African countries have
legislated against FGC, and other national governments
support the eradication. Human rights organizations,
like the World Health Organization (WHO), oppose
the medicalization of FGC in any form and favor
complete elimination. However, in some communities,
milder forms of FGC remain legal, and thus legitimate.
Honor killing is the practice of killing girls
and women who are perceived to have defiled a
family's honor by allegedly engaging in sexual
activity or other improprieties before marriage
or outside of marriage. “Improper”
behavior justifies grounds for killing, however,
has expanded to include transgressions that are
not initiated by the girl, including rape, incest,
sexual abuse, or sexual rumor. A girl is killed
most often by male kin – father, husband,
brother, uncle, or cousin - to restore honor to
her family. Criminal penalties for honor killing
are lenient in countries where this practice is
most prevalent.
Because many cases go unreported, it is difficult
to determine the number of women who are the victims
of honor killing. The United Nations Population
Fund (UNPF) estimates as many as 5,000 females
are being killed each year as a result of honor
killings.[10] Honor killing occurs most frequently
in Muslim countries, although neither Islamic
religion nor law sanctions the practice. Other
countries where such killings have been reported
include Bangladesh, Britain, Brazil, Ecuador,
Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Norway, Jordan, Pakistan,
Peru, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, and Venezuela
.
Violations of honor include engaging in an illicit
sexual relationship, eloping, being raped, being
sexually abused by a family member and then running
away, seeking divorce, and being seen alone with
a man or boy even if the interaction is innocent.
Some children are killed for being born to a mother
who is accused of violating a family's honor.
Allegations of these activities or other improprieties
are enough to instigate honor killings, often
little or no proof is necessary. Depending on
the country, community, and specific situation,
girls can be strangled, shot, beaten to death,
stabbed, hacked to death, or in some cases, burned.
In communalistic societies, actions committed
by any family member affect the social stature
of the entire family. The family's reputation
comes before an individual's interests or safety.
Men in many societies consider their family's
honor to be inextricably tied to their own honor,
and thus perform honor killings to cleanse the
family's name from the improper deeds of girls
or women. Particularly in Arab and Islamic communities,
a family's honor is often determined by the actions
of its girls and women. Also, patriarchal traditions
force women to face the odd duality of being perceived
as both fragile beings who need male protection,
and evil persons who threaten to taint society.
The punishment for men who commit honor killings
is often non-existent or extremely lenient. In
some cases, judges extend light sentences because
they often empathize with men who claim to have
killed in defense of their honor. Legislation
in some countries condones honor killings. In
Iraq , Iran , and Pakistan , men are allowed to
kill their wives for adultery. Egyptian law allows
for a husband to receive a reduced sentence if
he can prove he killed her in defense of his honor.
However, countries like Lebanon and Jordan have
made progress towards giving more severe punishment
for perpetrators. According to former Article
340 of Jordan's penal code, “A husband or
a close blood relative who kills a woman caught
in a situation highly suspicious of adultery will
be totally exempt from sentence.”[11] In
December 2001, this article was revised to allow
a reduction in penalty only if the murder is committed
immediately following the first-hand sighting
of the victim in the act of committing adultery.[12]
Significant steps have been taken in the last
decade to stop the practice of honor killing and
to hold men who murder female family members more
accountable for their actions. Public awareness
of the issue has increased, as mass media, non-governmental
organizations, and international organizations
like the United Nations are examining the problem
and taking action to eliminate the practice. In
1994, a Jordanian journalist, Rana Husseni, began
writing articles that exposed cases of honor killing
in the Jordan Times, an English-language publication.
Soon other newspapers and publications followed,
and a national campaign to end honor killing was
born. In June 1999, representatives from Egypt,
Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Jordan attended
a two-day conference on the “prevention
of honor crimes” that has led to further
efforts by governments to take a firm stand and
effective action against honor killing.
If you are interested in helping to stop female
infanticide, sex-selective abortion, female genital
cutting, or honor killing, you can start by embracing
an attitude of sensitivity to the specific issues
girls face and disseminating ideas of gender equality
to people you interact with – colleagues,
students, children, lawmakers, and friends. You
can support organizations, like Youth Advocate
Program International, whose work addresses discrimination
against the girl child, write letters to government
officials to raise their concerns and encourage
them to act aggressively against a specific practice,
and get involved in grassroots organizing which
can lead to local, national, and international
improvement.
Wanna learn more? Check out the following links
Advocacy
Publications
Education
Glossary
Links and Resources
[1] United Nations Children's
Fund. Website: http://www.unicef.org
[2] Gendercide Watch, “Case Study: Female
Infanticide,” http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html
; Internet; accessed 4 February 2004 .
[3] http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html
[4] United Nations Population Fund, “FAQ's
on FGC,” http://www.unfpa.org/gender/faq_fgc.htm#14
; Internet; accessed 6 February 2004 .
[5] The Facts: Female Genital Mutilation, PATH
(Program for Appropriate Technology in Health),
(December 1997): 1.
[6] Amnesty International, “Female Genital
Mutilation – A Human Rights Information
Pack,” http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
; Internet; accessed 4 February 2004 .
[7] http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
[8] http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
[9] http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
[10] http://womensissues.about.com/cs/honorkillings/a/honorkillings.htm
[11] http://www.gendercide.org/case_honor.html?FACTNet
[12] http://www.equalitynow.org/english/actions/action_1802_en.html
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