Perceptions of married women about reasons and suggested solutions regarding gender preferences for offspring in Katputli Nagar, Jaipur: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: In India, the preference for a son is strong. Due to many reasons in various communities, the strong desire for a son and discrimination against a female child are causing the non-preference of female children, resulting in a skewed sex ratio in India. The main objective of the study was to assess the perception of urban slum married women in the reproductive age group about reasons and solutions to overcome gender preference. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study on 1230 married women of urban slums of age group 15–49 years was carried out in Katputli Nagar in Rajasthan state, India. Information regarding reasons and solutions to overcome gender preference was asked. A predesigned semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: Out of the 1230 study subjects, the majority reason for the male preference was “propagation of family name” (53.3%), followed by “family safety” (46.5%) and “funeral responsibility” (44.8%), “financial help in future” (39.2%) and “old age support” (40.2%). “Family name spoilage if remaining unmarried” and “female offspring will not stay with them after marriage” were the most preferred reasons for female non-preference (59.8% and 58.3%), respectively, and “dowry” in 56.4%. Strict implementation of anti-dowry law and better implementation of educational aids for girl child might be strong changes (69.83% and 69.18%, respectively), followed by “improvement in the security of females” (61.95%). Conclusion: Propagation of family names was an important reason for the preference for males. Strict implementation of anti-dowry law and better implementation of educational aid for female children might be strong changes that could remove gender discrimination in society.

Keywords

• gender preference
• reasons
• solutions for gender discrimination