Even where there are laws against many types of abuse, they are not enforced if they clash with cultural tradition. The series pointed out a number of specific situations. In India, women are oppressed from conception. Because boys are valued, thousands of Indian couples use ultrasound tests to learn the sex of their unborn child. If a girl, it may become another abortion victim.
Sons bring the groom s family a dowry worth up to four years of the bride s family s income.
Daughters are seen as bringing only financial hardship before leaving to become servants in another family. Women Locked Away Across North Africa, the Middle East, and into southern Asia, traditional religions keep women hidden and locked away . In much of Africa, the mutilation of female genitalia is a common practice. SIM missionary Lila Balisky says that in Ethiopia, female circumcision affects 92 percent of the women. Its ultimate effect, notes the Morning News series, like many other abusive acts, is to keep women in subservient roles.