ROME, JULY 3, 2011.- Sexual discrimination isn't limited to the workplace. In many countries around the world unborn baby girls are being singled out for elimination.
Journalist Mara Hvistendahl chronicles the origins and extent of this in "Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, And the Consequences of a World Full of Men," (Public Affairs).
Worldwide, on average 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. Males are more likely to die young so this slight imbalance at birth ensures that equilibrium is maintained. The dramatic situation in China and India was revealed in data cited in the book that puts the current level of male births at 121 and 112 respectively.
In 2005, French demographer Christophe Guilmoto calculated that if Asia's birth ratio had remained at its natural level the continent should have an additional 163 million females. This is more than the entire female population of the United States, Hvistendahl noted.
It's not just an Asian problem. The same tendency is present in the Caucasus -- Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia -- and also in the Balkans, according to the book.
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