Description
Harmful practice driven by the tradition of patrilineal inheritance in many societies, coupled with a reliance on boys to provide economic support, to ensure security in old age and to perform death rites.
Additional notes and information
Part of a set of social norms that place greater value on sons than daughters. In addition, a general trend towards declining family size, occasionally fostered by stringent policies restricting the number of children that people are allowed to have, is reinforcing a deeply rooted preference for male offspring.
Sex selection can occur before a pregnancy is established (pre-implantation), during pregnancy through pre-natal sex detection and selective abortion, or following birth through infanticide or child neglect. Sex selection is sometimes used for family balancing purposes, but far more typically occurs because of a systematic preference for boys.