Over 80% of parents in India want at least one male child; The National Family Health Survey
Even years after the sticky traditional beliefs and thoughts, there is still a preference for sons over daughters in India. A recent survey conducted by the National Family Health team made the revelation that over 80% of parents in India want at least one male child in their family and the survey detailed the reason behind the still persisting need of Indian parents, Indian Express reported.
The survey conducted by a group of experts noted that the preference for male children dominates in almost all the parts of the country except the Northeast state of Meghalaya. In Meghalaya, women want to have female children more in number rather than going with a preference for male children.
In India, many parents have the notion that their male child would take care of the entire family and think that their desires could only be fulfilled by the male children. When the case of their daughters is taken, they think that daughters would leave them for their matrimonial homes and cost them dowries. This attitude has been followed by many even today after years-long thoughts about the sex ratio.
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According to the last census of 2011, there were 940 females for every 1,000 males, and the sex ratio of children was 918 females for every 1,000 males. This led critics to call India the “Land of Missing Women”. Also, over 100 years, the census has shown that there have been more men in India than women.
In the survey, it made clear that those married couples who wish to have children in the future stand upon the preference of getting male children more than their preference for female children. Also, the survey showed, that a married person who has at least one son is less likely to want more children than another married person whose existing children do not include a son.
Despite the preference for male children, a recent survey highlighted several women empowerment and development statistics. For example, the literacy rate of women has increased, while the rate of reproduction has decreased.
