Gender... Imbalance

This is a recent conversation I had with a co-worker. Her name has been changed to protect privacy, but the content is true. Please accept my apologies if you find it offensive in any way, this blog only aims to share one individual's perspective about her own experience and matters happening in different areas of the world. Feel free to leave an insightful comment if desired. Thank you.


"You know, I should have been drowned." said Rachael, my co-worker.
"What, what are you talking about?" I asked.
"I should have been drowned. In India, there's usually a water bucket placed right beside a woman when she's giving birth so her husband can down the child if it's a girl."
"No way."
"Yes."
"And it's legal?!"
"Yes. Well, if people ask, they'd just say it's an accident."
"How common is it?"
"Very common. Especially among poor families who can't afford dowry demands when their daughter gets married."
"Dowry demands?"
"It's when the bride's family makes a big payment in cash or gifts to the groom's family when sending the daughter off for marriage."
"Whoa, wait, what?"
"Haha."
"That makes no sense to me."
"Well, it's supposedly banned, but still heavily practiced throughout India today."
"So you are alive right now because you were born in the States?"
"Yeah. Well my Indian father wanted to abort me but my mother was like, "No!"
"Rachael, where can I go to learn more?!"
"Haha. China does it too you know. Their boy to girl ratio is actually even worst than India's. China's is 120 boys to each 100 girls, and India's is 100 boys to every 93 girls."
"Okay how do you know those logistics by heart?"
"Nhi, if you were supposed to be drowned, you'd spend your entire life reading about this stuff too."
"I guess."
"What about Vietnam?"
"Um... I don't know. My mother gave birth to like, a hundred girls and we're all safe and sound and loved by my father so I guess it's not as bad. I think a thousand or so years ago, there were two sisters who led the Vietnamese army and fought the Chinese to secure independence for Vietnam or something and they have always been greatly celebrated and idolized in Vietnamese history books for that. So I think the Vietnamese people know how to respect and love women when well deserved."
"Oh, I see."
"Yes. I think most still prefer boys over girls for the 'passing down the last name' reason though."
"Oh."
"Yeah. This is sad, Rachael."
"Haha."