NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 6, 2001 : Women are making strides in both India and China, living longer and are more likely to be able to read and write than ever before. Despite this progress women are making, female fetuses are being aborted at startling rates in China and across broad swaths of India, new census data shows. The spread of ultrasound technology in these societies, has made it easy to abort unwanted daughters. In most parts of both India and China, it is a son who carries on the family line, inherits ancestral land, cares for his parents as they age and performs the most important ceremonial roles when they die.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike