In India, a strong preference for sons has increased the ratio of men to women over the past century. Girls are more likely than boys to be neglected or mistreated, and India has a history of higher death rates and lower life expectancy for women than for men. More recently, medical advances have enabled expectant parents to abort female fetuses, which has pushed the sex ratio at birth well above 105 boys to 100 girls, the normal ratio throughout the world. Families in India, as in China, Korea, and a number of other East and South Asian countries, value sons because sons usually live with their parents after marriage and contribute to family income. Sons provide vital financial support to elderly or ill parents, who often have no other source of income.
Daughters move away at marriage and transfer their allegiance to their husbands' families.
Parents can expect little financial or emotional support from daughters after they leave home. In many parts of India, daughters mean an additional disadvantage to parents-the obligation of paying her prospective husband's family a large dowry. Dowries often require parents to go into debt, and the amount families must pay has been increasing over the years. The financial and social disadvantages of having a daughter prompt some women to abort their pregnancies if they are carrying a daughter. Pregnant women can determine the sex of their fetus through ultrasound and other examinations.