In China, the most populated country in the world, a preference for boys has been present since ancient times. The preference is rooted in their culture but strongly tied to financial reasons. Confucianism, taught by Confucius between the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., is a “system of social and ethical philosophy [that establishes the social values and institutions of most Chinese societies]” (Berling). The philosophy instills the belief that males are superior to females because they provide stability for old parents, work and play a crucial role in the performance of rites. The thought that women do not inspire stability is based on a traditional practice. They leave their families to go live with their husband’s, and thus their parents have
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The policy restricted families to having only one child and required them to apply for a birth permit before starting a pregnancy. Children that lacked a permit were denied household registration (It’s a girl). The One-Child policy was introduced by the Chinese Communist Party in an open letter. In the letter, they stated four reasons for the implementation: controlling excessive population, “[i]ncreasing saving and investment rates”, enhancing the quality of life, and protecting the environment as a result of the decrease in consumption (Zuo, Xiaoping). Shortly after the policy was introduced inconsistencies in China’s sex ratios, mostly in the north and south of the country and specifically in rural areas, suggested human intervention. Couples were entitled to have only one child, so they wanted to make sure this child was a male leading to the massive killing of baby girls. The killing was performed in the following ways: baby girls were aborted, killed immediately after birth and abandoned. One of the most common methods used to take the lives of these girls was preventing them from breathing by placing a piece of cloth on their face (It’s a …show more content…
It was carried out by a militant order called the family planning police, who received help from paid informants. These informants reported on illegally pregnant women and ranged from neighbors and friends to a family member. “The family planning office kept track of these women […] and performed a family planning raid on their neighborhoods” (It’s a girl). An illegal pregnancy was “unauthorized”, this mainly included the lack of a birth permit or expecting a second child. The consequences of an illegal pregnancy were fines higher than the household’s annual income but if couples lacked the money to pay women had to face forced abortion and forced sterilization. In a case where a woman resisted to the abortion, she was threat with job loss, fines, personal harm and furthermore an arrest. A couple who gave birth to an illegal child faced future consequences and burdens because the child did not have citizenship. In 1984, the authorities struggled to implement the regime in rural areas and therefore decided to make an adjustment. In these areas, a “child and a half” policy started operating. The policy gave families the right to have another child if their first one was a girl (It’s a girl; “History of the One-Child Policy”; Zuo,
The policy restricted families to having only one child and required them to apply for a birth permit before starting a pregnancy. Children that lacked a permit were denied household registration (It’s a girl). The One-Child policy was introduced by the Chinese Communist Party in an open letter. In the letter, they stated four reasons for the implementation: controlling excessive population, “[i]ncreasing saving and investment rates”, enhancing the quality of life, and protecting the environment as a result of the decrease in consumption (Zuo, Xiaoping). Shortly after the policy was introduced inconsistencies in China’s sex ratios, mostly in the north and south of the country and specifically in rural areas, suggested human intervention. Couples were entitled to have only one child, so they wanted to make sure this child was a male leading to the massive killing of baby girls. The killing was performed in the following ways: baby girls were aborted, killed immediately after birth and abandoned. One of the most common methods used to take the lives of these girls was preventing them from breathing by placing a piece of cloth on their face (It’s a …show more content…
It was carried out by a militant order called the family planning police, who received help from paid informants. These informants reported on illegally pregnant women and ranged from neighbors and friends to a family member. “The family planning office kept track of these women […] and performed a family planning raid on their neighborhoods” (It’s a girl). An illegal pregnancy was “unauthorized”, this mainly included the lack of a birth permit or expecting a second child. The consequences of an illegal pregnancy were fines higher than the household’s annual income but if couples lacked the money to pay women had to face forced abortion and forced sterilization. In a case where a woman resisted to the abortion, she was threat with job loss, fines, personal harm and furthermore an arrest. A couple who gave birth to an illegal child faced future consequences and burdens because the child did not have citizenship. In 1984, the authorities struggled to implement the regime in rural areas and therefore decided to make an adjustment. In these areas, a “child and a half” policy started operating. The policy gave families the right to have another child if their first one was a girl (It’s a girl; “History of the One-Child Policy”; Zuo,