This unique and groundbreaking book asks the controversial question of
why millions of girls do not appear to be surviving to adulthood in
contemporary Asia. In the first major study available of this sensitive and
emotive issue, Elisabeth Croll investigates the extent of discrimination
against female children in Asia and shifts the focus of attention firmly from
son preference to daughter discrimination.
The book paints a vivid picture of daughter discrimination across Asia
today, from excessive child mortality to the withholding of health care and
education on the basis of gender. It argues that daughters still cannot
substitute for sons and that the increasing availability of sex-identification
technologies will serve only to supplement older forms of infanticide and
neglect. Startlingly, it reveals that, in China, India and across East and
South Asia, daughter discrimination is actually on the increase despite
rising economic development, declining fertility and the generally improved
status of women.
This compelling account of a phenomenon still hidden and
unacknowledged across the world is essential reading for all those
interested in gender and children in contemporary society