China’s Graying Population Discussed
China’s economy is not the only thing mushrooming. China is also facing an escalating aging population. And how they will deal with the problems of an aging, one-child population has begun to worry some in China.
According to a leading gerontology scholar, one in every five old people in the world is Chinese. “By the middle of this century, China will reach the peak of its aging population of people aged 60 and over amounting to 434 million, 31 percent of the population,” Du Peng, chief of the Institute of Gerontology with Renmin University of China, recently said at the Eighth Asia/Oceania Regional Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Beijing. The conference saw more than1,000 experts from around the world gather to discuss the aging population.
“The main determining factors of the aging society in China range from a boosted average lifespan, which stands at 72 years old nationwide, because of improved life quality and healthcare, to the China-unique family planning policy,” Yang Hui, another researcher, told China Daily.
Du pointed out the fact that there will be challenges in the future in dealing with China’s growing elderly population. China does not have an adequate national system to support the elderly, especially those who have no income, insurance or children.
Despite existing government programs meant to subsidize the poor and childless elderly, the growing economy has left them behind. They find it difficult to survive financially, especially given the high medical costs now in China. Beginning in March of 2008, the extremely poor elderly will be given monthly financial assistance.
According to Du, “But simply giving money is far from enough as some are partly disabled from old age and cannot take care of themselves…The government can purchase services for them from companies selling household services.”
In the past, children and extended family members have taken care of older family members in China, especially in rural areas where poverty among the elderly is greater. As that tradition seems to be ending, according to Du, legislation may be needed to guarantee the rights and benefits of Chinese aged.
See the Source: Shan Juan, “Aging population ‘a challenge,’” China Daily, 23 October 2007, http://www.chinadaily.com.con/china/2007-10/23/content_6197702.htm
India Paying a Price for Killing Female Babies
In India, baby girls are still increasingly killed or aborted, just as in China. This practice could well cause a demographic crisis in that society that is expected to result in a rise in sexual violence and child abuse as well as wife-sharing, the United Nations warned recently.
Although India bans prenatal testing tor gentler, the practice of aborting baby girls is common in some regions of India where a preference for sons runs deep. As a result, the United Nations estimates 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India, leading to skewed sex ratios in some regions of the country as well as the capital, New Delhi, where a census in 2001 showed there are less than 800 girls for every 1000 boys.
“The 2001 census was a wake-up call for all of us and much public awareness has been created on female feticide since then,” reported Ena Singh, assistant representative for the United Nations Population Fund in India.
“But initial figures show sex ratios are still declining as female feticide is becoming more widespread across the country and it is likely to be worse in the next census in 2011.”
In most parts of India, parents are looking out for their graying years, as sons are viewed as breadwinners while daughters are seen as financial liabilities who must be married off with a dowry.
The Indian government reports that over the past 20 years, parents have killed about 10 million girls either before or immediately after birth. Experts warn that fewer women will spark a demographic crisis in parts of country. “There already is this phenomenon all over the country where there is a lot of sexual violence and abuse against women and children …,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the New Delhi based think-tank Center for Social Research. “But when there are less women in the population and more men of the same age group, there is certainly going to be much more demand for women for marriage, for sex, and this pressure will certainly increase violence against women.”
Experts say they see polyandry, the practice of several men, often brothers, sharing one wife, already emerging in areas where there is a lack of women. Brides are being sold and trafficked by parents, especially to some rural areas where bachelors cannot find wives within their own culture, caste and social groups. This practice has resulted in the women having to adapt to a new culture, language and life style. They are often treated as second-class citizens by the community who only value them for their ability to breed male offspring.
“There is this myth that fewer women will give them better status in society hut this is a fallacy,” said activist Sabu George. “Women in India are already being treated as commodities to be bought and sold and their plight will worsen as sex ratios continue to decline.”
See the Source: Nita Bhalla, “Rise in India’s female feticide may spark crisis,” Reuters UK, 23 October 2007, http://uk.retuers.com/article/worldNews/idUKDEL22936620070831?pageNumber=1
