Female Infanticide in China

China: Female Infanticide

As soon as the baby girl was born, my mother-in-law kicked it with her toe and said, 'Who wants this?' She wrapped it in a wet towel and left it on the floor. My husband's sister, weak after the delivery, just wept. It died within a few hours." (Arvamudan, 1999)

Female infanticide has been present within some societies for centuries. It continues to represent a social justice concern because the occurrence of female infanticide has historically led to and accounts for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout the world. A feminist perspective of social justice can be utilized to best explain the occurrence of this problem. On the basis of a feminist perspective, female infanticide is a form of violence directed at and used against females, representing one of many different forms of such violence, deeply rooted in sex inequality. As such, female infanticide represents an act of social injustice purposely engaged in to further demarcate and reinforce the boundaries of gender. Alternatively, Confucianism and its historical influence on China has contributed to the ongoing perpetuation and acceptance of female infanticide via its allegiance to a hierarchy and order in which women were subject to men and inheritors of social controls designed to assure their loyalty to men.

Within this paper, an overview will be provided of female infanticide as it occurs within China. In order to thoroughly address this problem, information will be provided regarding the occurrence of female infanticide, those involved, those who are being harmed/adversely affected by the handling of this problem, identification of efforts conducted to stop the pattern and the likely consequences and outcomes if this pattern continues. Subsequently, an examination as to how different systems of justice evaluate female infanticide will be provided. A description of each justice system will be provided as will recommendations regarding female infanticide based on each system. After this, an assessment will be provided on this problem on the basis of this student's views and philosophy of justice. A plan of action will then be offered on the basis of these views, including a plan as to what this student can personally do to help solve this problem. At least one strategy for building power relationships for change will be identified. Finally, the plan developed by this student will be evaluated for potential effectiveness.

Overview of Female Infanticide

Recent data suggests that female infanticide and prenatal sex selection have created a "missing girl gap" of 30 million in China (Phillips, Fawcett & Pankhurst, 2003).

As reported by Jeffrey (2002), female infanticide, sex selective abortions, the abandonment of little girls, and the neglect of baby girls in China remain problems due to the traditional preference for sons, and the family planning policy, which limits urban couples to one child and rural couples to two. Estimates from previous years indicate a very high percentage of pregnancies terminated are of female fetuses and female babies also suffer from a higher mortality rate than male babies, contrary to the worldwide trend (Jeffrey, 2002). While the Chinese government statistics place the national ratio of male to female births at 114 to 100, the World Health Organization estimates the ratio to be 117 to 100 as compared to the global norm of 106 male births to 100 female (Jeffrey, 2002).

According to Jeffrey (2002), demographers in China suggest that there may now be as many as 100 million more men than women. If this is correct, as noted by the author, of the total population of China (1.273 billion), there are approximately 686.5 million men and 586.5 million women. However, as explained by Jeffrey, if post-birth mortality rates are assumed to be the same for both sexes and China had the normal global birth rate of 106 boys for 100 girls, there would have been 647.6 million women in China, approximately 61 million more than there currently are. Thus, the "missing girl" gap in China may actually be twice as large as the estimated 30 million. As noted by Jeffrey, such findings suggest that the Chinese government and the people of China have allowed and participated in the murder of an estimated 30 to 60 million female infants.

Female infanticide has emerged in China as a consequence of government regulations that allow only one child per couple in cities and two in the countryside if they are born at least three years apart (Saini, 2002). Traditionally, as explained by Saini, greater significance is associated with the birth of males as they are expected to support their parents, providing a form of insurance for parents in their old age. On the other hand, females do not offer the same utility and to avoid paying fines to the government, parents kill their female offspring. According to Reist (1999), fines for an illegal pregnancy can be more than a family's total annual income. Penalties for an unauthorized birth can amount to 40% of total income and continue up to 14 years. As well, as explained by Resit, the children of non-conformists are penalized by being denied household registration, which is necessary to obtain medical care and other essential services.

According to Zeng, Ping, Baochang, Bohua and Yongping (1993), female infanticide and abandonment existed in China long before the People's Republic of China established its family planning regulations. During the late 1800s, missionaries reported instances of female infanticide, with the practice continuing up until the 1970s (Zeng et al., 1993). However, after the Chinese government established the "one-child" policy in 1979 as a means for controlling population growth, evidence began to emerge in the 1980s documenting the phenomenon of missing girls in China.

In her account of interviews held with Chinese women who had either killed or participated in the killing of their female infants, Saini (2002) reveals the pain experienced by many of these women in the acts of violence committed against their children. Such evidence fully documents the fact that the "missing girls" of China are not the only ones being harmed by female infanticide. As noted by both Jeffrey (2002) and Saini (2002), both Western and Eastern official accounts of the "missing girls" in China fail to acknowledge the pain experienced by the mothers of these children and the horrendous events that accompany the establishment of an infants status as "missing."

While it appears that globalization has led to greater attention being directed to this problem, as reported by Jeffrey (2002), the world and the governments of nations throughout the world (including the U.S.) continue to couch and conceal the realities of female infanticide in China within discussions on demography, family planning, reproductive rights, the gathering of census data, and possible explanations as to why the gaps that currently exist between male and female births are present. It is Jeffrey's contention that the world is sitting by and continuing to silently witness another holocaust occur.

According to Greenhalgh (2001), as greater attention has been drawn to the disparities in numbers between male and female births within China, the Chinese government has made some movement towards further examination of and response to this problem. Consequently, permission was given to families in rural areas (where anti-female bias is stronger) to have a second child if the first was a girl. As reported by Greenhalgh, in 1995, the government established a small pilot project to test the feasibility of innovations to improve the "quality of care" in the birth control program. Such projects, as noted by the author, were launched under the auspices of giving women's health and choice greater weight while continuing to retain control of population growth. The aim of these efforts were to continue with the emphasis on demographic control suggests while attempting to improve the delivery of services in the birth control program. It was the government's stance that China remained a nation in demographic crisis saved by the one-child policy.

According to Gillis (1995), the reduced number of girls relative to boys in China will have society-wide effects in the future. In a country where 96% of the population marries, as noted by Gillis, it is expected that there will be a shortfall in the number of women available for marriage. Gillis explained that projections estimated that by the year 2000, on the basis of birth and death rates, timing of first marriages, and the size of the population, marriageable men will outnumber marriageable women 106 to 100 in the age cohort that was born around the time China's family planning policy began. By 2020, as Gillis reported, it was estimated that the ratio will reach 110 to 100. Should female infanticide continue, it was expected that the ratio will only go up, translating into millions of unmarried men.

As further explained by Gillis (1995), the impact that this will have on young men remains unclear. However, as noted by the author, within China, like other traditional societies, identity comes from being part of a family. According to Saini (2002), evidence already exists of males banding together in raiding parties to obtain wives for themselves, regardless of a females age. Eventually, as explained by Gillis (1995), it is expected that this trend will reverse itself as a consequence of the manner in which cultural values influence biology. According to Gillis, the absence of females within the Chinese population will lead over time to an increased preference for females over males. Thus, the trend will reverse itself, with the females eventually outnumbering males.

Roman Catholicism and Social Justice

The social teachings of Roman Catholicism have a long history and have continued to evolve and develop over time in the emergence of a social justice agenda.

Whether in relation to matters of economic or social issues, a basic premise underlying social justice based on Catholicism is that all decisions and institutions must be "judged in light of whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person" (U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1986, p. 411). This premise is largely based upon and tied to the Catholic adherence to a "consistent life ethic" (Perl & McClinktock, 2001). On the basis of this premise, anything that represents a threat to human life and/or the dignity associated with human life represents moral and political issues of concern. A consistent life ethic emerges from each individual's connection with God and the human dignity accorded to the individual because of this connection. Thus, the manner in which people think about and react to justice issues in social life and the boundaries which are drawn in terms of what represents the 'moral community' within which all matters of justice are confronted is determined by examination of the degree to which such issues are representative of a "consistent life ethic" (Cohen, 1991).

Therefore, when considering the degree to which female infanticide represents a matter of social injustice, on the basis of the Catholic perspective of social justice, acts of murder and the killing of babies clearly fail conform to a consistent life ethic. In fact, the taking of human life, for whatever purposes, represents a clear violation of this ethic. However, as noted by Perl and McClintock (2001), one of the problems associated with the effectiveness or scope of the Catholic social justice perspective is that it also is formalized within the context of moral community and moral exclusion. There are individuals or groups are perceived to be outside the boundary in which moral values, rules, and considerations of fairness apply. Those who are excluded are perceived as "nonentities," "expendable," or "undeserving," and harming them becomes viewed as "acceptable," "appropriate," and "just" (Opotow, 1990). Therefore, Chinese female infants, in spite of their connectedness to God via human life, fail to fall within the protection of the moral community and are, at some level, justified for moral exclusion. While the Catholic perspective may be used to speak out against the social injustices committed against those who fall outside of the moral community, the boundary condition or scope of justice largely impacts and limits the degree to which justice efforts are initiated directed towards the alleviation of injustice. Thus, as is evident when reviewing the current literature, voices based in the Catholic perspective of social justice are largely absent in efforts to call attention to the injustice associated with female infanticide in China.

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism: Perspectives on Social Justice

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism represent major religious influences over the past several centuries in Chinese thought. In reviewing how each of these religious influences have impacted matters of relevance to social justice, Chittister (1986 explained by while Buddhism was focused on discovering the way to the fullness of life which was open to both men and women, the interpretation of the myth of the Demon Mara, however, was used eventually to justify the suppression of women. According to Chittister, the daughters of the Demon Mara -Desire, Pleasure and Passion - were arrayed against Buddha to test his Desirelessness. While Buddha prevailed, women became perceived as an obstacle to the achievement by men of a full spiritual life and can be abandoned at any time to enable men to pursue enlightenment. Women are seen as having bad karma. Women are made dependent for life on the control and direction of men. Hinduism, which sees women as responsible for the creation of matter and its dangers, is now overlaid with Buddhism which sees women as responsible for spiritual entrapment and in need of structures that oppress. The stage is set, then, for systems that claim to be equal, look equal, and profess equality but which cling to patterns that justify the oppression of women in the name of salvation. As further explained by Chittister, on the basis of Buddhism, a woman's salvation still depends on docile subservience to a husband; women may still be abandoned for the sake of the man's spiritual enlightenment; women still have inferior religious status; daughters are still bad karma; and the life of a woman still depends on the gratuitous kindness of a man.

According to Chittister (1986), Confucianism in China, Buddhist principles were codified to bring harmony to society through filial piety, goodness, and social propriety, with an ongoing acceptance of female inferiority and corruption. However, as noted by the author, on the basis of Confucianism, efforts were made to institutionalize female inferiority, with females presented as having undisciplined natures that polluted attempts to contact the divine and who would be punished after death (as tradition maintained) for having produced this pollution. Consequently, as noted by Chittister, female infanticide, concubinage, girl sales, and footbinding became the natural outcome of a society based on doctrines of female inferiority. Thus, social justice based on Confucianism failed to even consider such events as representing any form of social injustice and a provided a moral basis for the commission of acts of violence and harm against females within Chinese society.

According to Chittister (1986), Taoism (604 BCE) softened the situation somewhat and suggested that the practice of Tao was symbolized by water, valley, infant, and female. Females were recognized as indispensable for the balance and wholeness of nature; thus, there was to be no female infanticide in Tao. However, as explained by Chittister, as wars and social upheaval continued within China, authoritarianism prevailed and with it the creation myth of domination rather than equality. Authoritarianism and order were perceived as critical in assuring power to the powerful and to equate those with force with the force of God. Thus, men were to remain all powerful while women remained under their control. Taoism, as with Buddhism and Confucianism, further removed female infanticide and other forms of violence directed at females as matters of social injustice and allowed for the perpetuation of such crimes.

Feminism and Social Justice

On the basis of a feminist perspective of social justice, there is a clear recognition of and adherence to the examination of economic and social institutions as well as rules and norms for the purposes of determining their basis in sex inequality. From a feminist perspective, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993) provides clear documentation as to why female infanticide represents a social injustice by defining violence against women as: