A recent National Geographic Magazine article titled “Population 7 Billion, How Your World Will Change” discussed the burgeoning world population. You may want to track down and read this fascinating article!
Our class DVD, “World in the Balance: The Population Paradox” exposed us to some interesting information as well. Use this blog to react and to discuss your thoughts re: world population issues. Ideally, we would include information we learned about Asia, the most populous continent.
I was shocked to hear what a large impact sonograms have had on female births in Asia. India's goal of 2 children per woman has meant the abortion of hundreds of thousands of female fetuses. I've heard stories of female babies from China (which has a stricter 1 child policy) being put up for adoption at a tremendous rate, and horror stories about babies being abandoned, or worse, since families (fathers, since we are dealing with patriarchal societies)want a son to carry on the family name. I never really thought about the impact that technology would have on the birth rates of girls though. Targeting a pregnancy for abortion because it is a girl seems so horrific that I never would have imagined it. I was glad to hear that it has been outlawed though, but I was disturbed to say the least to see the "burned brides". To douse a young woman in kerosene and light her on fire because of a dowry dispute or because she hasn't bourn a son is reprehensible. I'm optimistic that with increased contraceptive use and education that perhaps India can get its birth rates under control which will go far in raising the standard of living for much of its population.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video in class today, I am quite surprised to hear the way women are devalued in India. Just like Tony mentioned, I have heard about the Chinese preferring to have a boy over a girl but I was unaware it was that extreme in India. I am also shocked to hear that girls still get married that young and have arranged marriages. I understand the importance of carrying on the family name is but I don't think men understand how hard child birth can be on a woman's body. It can cause all kinds of health problems because your body just doesn't go back to the way it was. On top of that, kids are so expensive now days. I think that is one of the main reasons why the US birth rate is down. It is really hard to support a family on 1 source of income and if you have more children, you have more daycare expenses. Also, according the US Department Of Education statistics women study harder, achieve higher grades and are more likely to graduate than men. Women are trying harder and realize they don't need a man to support them like they did in previous generations. If other countries would value women more and give them the opportunity to increase their education, I think they would see the same results. It may boost their economy and keep the population down. A big change has definitely occured in the workforce and I believe other countries should wake up and get with the times.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the DVD in class I was not as shocked as most people in our class. I had a Buddhism class last year and we took a close look at some of the conditions effecting India. But what really caught my eye was about the older women who wanted to help young teen girls. I once saw her giving a speech on television about her cause to help young single women get an education. I also saw her on Opera giving the same talk. Opera donation a lot of money to her cause, this god sent women started a coalition that is so great that thousands of young abandon mother and their babies are benefiting. Through education and training she is changing the social dynamics of these young mothers. She is giving them the power that their husband took form them. They are not learning that they are the ones that control their future not their once abusive controlling husbands. I believe that with time and much needed resources this coalition could have a profound effect not only in India but in many other countries around the world.
ReplyDeleteIt was clear to me in the video that educating women on the value of birth control helps deal with population issues. However, if their culture continues to devalue girls, no amount of education will solve the issue. I was stunned that the woman in India who requested sterilization was overruled by her husband and mother-in-law. This lady clearly understood the risks of another pregnancy to her life (and her children’s), but cultural practices did not allow for her voice to be heard. In this case, education did not help. I think the woman who has a program in Africa that teaches both boys and girls the issues arising from women having multiple pregnancies will help the overcrowding. But, I don’t think the program can actually change the culture of wanting male births. I only hope that by giving both young men and women the knowledge needed to make informed decisions regarding raising children, birth rates will decline. However, we need to be careful in the way the young people are influenced because reducing birth rates by significant amounts changes the population pyramids. There needs to be a balance between young and old. As a result of reducing their birth rates, Japan now has more old people than young. Women receiving an education delay marriage for careers and when ready to have children are faced with numerous struggles (i.e. daycare, guilt, caring for elderly) – the same issues we face here. According to the video, the U.S. will continue to grow because our government allows immigration. This comment made me think what will happen if these people bring their cultural policy of devaluing women with them? I would hate to see the equality of the sexes diminish; even if it is a hundred or more years from now.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping some of you would jump right onto this blog topic! Fascinating subject....great responses thus far...thanks Kamal, Linda, Krystal, & Tony:)
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the DVD in class I was not as shocked as most people in our class. I had a Buddhism class last year and we took a close look at some of the conditions effecting India. But what really caught my eye was about the older women who wanted to help young teen girls. I once saw her giving a speech on television about her cause to help young single women get an education. I also saw her on Opera giving the same talk. Opera donation a lot of money to her cause, this god sent women started a coalition that is so great that thousands of young abandon mother and their babies are benefiting. Through education and training she is changing the social dynamics of these young mothers. She is giving them the power that their husband took form them. They are not learning that they are the ones that control their future not their once abusive controlling husbands. I believe that with time and much needed resources this coalition could have a profound effect not only in India but in many other countries around the world.
ReplyDeleteAlso while watching the DVD; one of the topics that came up was the importance of women to have boys. The host stated that when a woman has a son, he belongs to her. But if a woman has a girl she is someone else’s “set”. Girls are seen as a finical burden rather then a positive gain. Families in India based on their culture and customs must bare the burden of getting their daughters married off, this marriage comes at a great expense for the family because they must pay the dowry. Many families are poor and do not have the resources. I know from my own culture it’s just the opposite. It is the man who pays the dowry and pays for the wedding and all the expenses, this in return influences women to have daughters so that they can find a suitor with money to take care of their daughters and even them in some cases. But in India this issue of baring a son rather then a girl has caused so serious problems for mother who do not bare boys, the film spoke about how there are thousands of abortions because sauna grams reveal a girl rather then a boy. I can only imagine the burden that young married girls face when they can not produce a boy. I would not wish that on any one. Quit frankly I think it ridicules. I am happy that there are some doctors with integrity that will not reveal the gender of a baby. Maybe the one social researcher is correct when she published her article titled “neither born nor burned.”
ReplyDeleteClose friend stood silent when I raised question what make him and his wife to make two boys in one year, yes his wife was pregnant and gave two births in one year. He replay that all his brothers oversea and his father and grandfather make many kids, he was one of the 9 kids that his father has to rise , and this was passed to him from generation to generation, I asked do you remember if his father made good income to cover all the 9 kids back then, he said we lived in two room house and he only saw his father at late night and still wasn’t enough to cover of the need of nine kids. So I asked if he planning to make four more kids to reach number nine, he smiled and replied I don’t know, So yes as Linda was mentioning Education and cultural are matter in the subject of population and the unnecessarily of high numbers of one family.
ReplyDeleteI had learned in grade school that Asian families would try not to have female babies,but I never really understood the depth of that thought until after watching this video. I found it interesting that for as young as the children were that were having kids in the Asian communities, they were still educating them on the pill. While girls might be seen as a financial burden, they are still human beings and shouldn't be looked down upon based on their gender. This also reminded me of the video that we watched regarding Sudan. People who have no voice need our help and if this is still the case in Asia, I would say that the females need our help. More than just because they aren't receiving an equal choice to live. But also because they are being pressured to have kids at a young age and they are expected to have a male child. Also relating to the Sudan video, Asia seems to be a male dominated area. Unfortunately, this creates unequal rights.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how we as a world has come so far in some aspects but fail to progress in other areas such as religious beliefs or the sake of having children. I feel that the woman in the video is an angel, i agree that these women need a lesson in birth control and need an education. But it's just not the women that i saw, someone has to change the views of the man and his family. In the one story the mother in law insisted on more children even though it almost cost the life of a human being. It does not seem as there is any regard to that fact; that these women are human beings and the body is not meant to produce at that rate or amount. I have been pregnant 10 times and have given birth 5 times. My last child was born two years ago and before he even came out i knew there was no way that my body could handle carrying or birthing any more children. These women are almost treated as animals. If no one can change the views of the ones that are in charge of the relationship there is no hope for these women. I don't know what to say about the Africa section. Between that AIDS epidemic and the booming birth rate, I can't wrap my head around that one. I understand that if you are poor you must do what ever there is to survive, but it seems selfish of the men who know people are dying of AIDS to force women to have unprotected sex. If they are still able to "acheive" what does it matter? Ok so maybe I'm immature in my thinking but again i don't understand how the world can become so globalized and industrialized yet stay so far behind in these philosophies.
ReplyDeleteI would like Michele's comment because I totally agree! How can a world become so advanced and know the different things in life and yet still treat the women the way they do? It makes me sick to think about what the women deal with on a day to day basis and have to deal with having unprotected sex with the Aids epdmic going on!
ReplyDeleteI found the DVD on population growth to be eye-opening, especially the part that focused on India. We’ve all heard about China and their strict one-child policy but it seems that India’s population issue has been overlooked. It was disturbing to find out that women don’t have control over something as personal as their reproductive lives. Then again with 95% of marriages being arranged, maybe this shouldn’t be surprising. Another issue that was brought up was sex-selective abortions. Because of the traditional son-preference in many Asian countries, restrictions on births make it very vulnerable to sex selection. Although I understand the problems that unchecked population growth bring, it seems to me that anytime a government tries to intervene and limit the population in Asia, females face the consequences. China now faces a population imbalance with males outnumbering females. How long before India reaches the same state?
ReplyDeleteI’m glad that some physicians are looking to their personal ethics and refusing to reveal the sex of a child. As the video concluded I too believe that employment opportunities are the key to changing these women’s lives, as well as education. When they are economically self-sufficient & informed, they can take more control of their situation. It might not be a lesson many parents teach their children but money is empowerment.
It was very surprising to learn how Japans population is declining. The country is facing what is feared to be the worst demographic dilemma. For the first time in recorded history, which is more than a century old, the country is faced with an unbelievable low birth rate, a rate so low that its population growth may actually be in the negative within the next couple of years. This has resulted in a sharp fall in the 15 – 65 age group population. This is the group that is responsible for the production of goods and services and there is a rise in the number of elders. The dependency ratio, the number of workers supporting the elderly, is continuing to shift, putting a strain on the economy.
ReplyDeleteThe main cause appears to be late marriages. Female education and adoption of family planning methods have led to delayed or no marriages. Many women have entered the professional work place and prefer to pursue a career rather than start a family. Women are tired of the old tradition and are doing what they want first. Reduced living spaces, insufficient childcare facilities and the increasing cost of children’s education have also acted as deterrents for raising a family. Those who decide to have a family must carefully weigh the obstacles. The life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world. It keeps increasing due to better life styles, higher incomes, and improved medical facilities. The elderly appear to be living longer and longer.
If this continues, the economy will not be able to get enough skilled work forces for its manufacturing and services sectors. Labor would become costlier, increasing the cost of production. There will be more elders to tend, straining the medical and pension systems. The demand for all the goods consumed by children will fall. There probably are schools that have been closed because of not having enough children. The whole situation would get into a vicious cycle of low demand and lower supplies.
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ReplyDeleteMan, where do i begin, I agree with everyone on every topic thus far, But more importantly guys these issues are finally being brought to the surface. As we saw in the DVD there are some very ethical doctors who will not reveal the childs sex. Then we have people such as the women who is fighting to give young mothers control over thier lives. It seems like as more and more of the women and the indian population is being educated they are coming to reliaze that, it does not matter about the sex of the child as long as he or she is healthy. I think we will see that in the next few decades that india as a rising global gaint will learn to treat its people with the proper care that it needs. These needs will expand form equal rights for women and the unborn.
ReplyDeleteThis video to me was alarming. It is scary to think what women go thru on a day to day basis let alone just what we see happening on the videos we have watched throughout this class. The two major conflicts that caught my attention in this particular video were the abuse of women and the stipulations of children through different cultures of the world. Burning brides, I can’t even begin to imagine what these women feel every day. The things I stress about each day include paying bills, feeding & nurturing my children, and school work! I wouldn’t want to have to think that I might get beat by my husband, forced to have sex (raped) with the man I married to produce what society calls the norm, or maybe even burned alive. Women in these countries need rights. Talking about problems with mother in laws in the US is totally different then what women face with parent in laws in other countries. Pre-arranged marriages and children getting married at 14 are a few indicators that need to change in the culture to further tackle all the pressure these women are facing all together. Secondly I can’t believe abortions are happening all over the gender of children. This seems ludicrous!!!!! I can’t believe technology would be used in this type of manor. I also can’t believe women would do the things they do to themselves to have miscarriages. As stated previous I am happy to know that abortion was deemed illegal. I am also happy to know that some women are taking back their lives as well with learning about protection and precautions even if it means being dishonest.
ReplyDeleteWith the potential for an extremely large increase in population over the next 50 years the world is in a crisis. In India the birth rates are unbelievable all because the men want to have a son to carry on the family name. I feel the human population as a whole is more concerned with themselves rather than the well being of the planet as well as future generations. With the advances in the medical field I do see hope for improvement though. As women become more independent in India and as birth rates begin to decrease there is hope. There however needs to be more focus on sex education in developing countries. As the masses grow the entire population will need to work together, the time for selfishness is over and its time to do whats best for the masses and the planet before it becomes uninhabitable and there is no more room to live in comfort.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to say but I've heard about what happens in China and Asia to children a while ago, I was horrified, but then forgot about it. Since it doesn't effect us directly we don't care. I was younger then when I first heard these terrible stories of aborting children just because of the gender. Now hearing these stories it really gets to me because I'm at that point in my life where I've been thinking about having children and it's hard to hear how crazy it is in some parts of the world. There are so many people that can't have children that pray even for the opportunity to adopt a child and there are millions of children getting killed daily. My younger cousin goes around to different countries and builds and educates people about different things. My family was really upset with her because they were afraid something would happen to her. I again was younger when she first started to do it and I thought it was stupid. But again now that I'm grown and she still does it every summer, I have such a great respect and love for her now because she didn't care what anyone said she wanted to help these people and knew h ow much they needed it. Also how that just with as much as building a well for clean water and building a little school house can make such a great difference in people and their community.
ReplyDeleteWhat was weird to me from the video is the difference in a baby’s voice compared to a woman’s voice. What I mean by that is that a baby girl is not as important as a boy and a choice to abort a girl fetus is ok, but a woman chooses to have a career and not a child is acceptable? Believe me I think that a woman has every right to choice what they would like in their own future and to decide what works for them, but what happens when more and more woman choice not to have children and all these girl fetuses have been aborted? What happens to the population then? I understand the population is doing well at this time, but you see how the chart in the DVD showed the difference in a family with one child compared to the family with two children. I just like to think that maybe aborting girls should not be an issue anymore.
ReplyDeleteGood work bloggers:)
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