Blogs Comment On Gender Gap In China, Afghan 'Rape Law,' Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "China's Guy Problems Only Getting Worse," Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon's "Broadsheet": Imagining that men make up the total population of California provides a "solid image" of about "how many more millions of males than females there are in China," Clark-Flory writes. "The gender gap is largely attributed to sex-selective abortion, a result of China's one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys," she continues, adding that a report released Friday found that 1.1 million more boys than girls were born in 2005. The report also says that there is nothing to be done "to prevent this imminent generation of excess men." Clark-Flory says that "experts warn that the inevitable overabundance of lonely bachelors will lead to total chaos." She writes that Therese Hesketh of the Centre for International Health and Development at University College London said that the multitude of "highly sexed young men" may get together and "go out and commit crimes." Clark-Flory adds that "the suggestion seems" that the crimes will be sexually based. She concludes that although she "has held on to an irrational hope that a dearth of girls might actually improve women's status in China," the story in South Korea, "which is also coping with an astronomical gender imbalance," indicates that "[m]en simply outsource, importing brides from other countries" (Clark-Flory, "Broadsheet," Salon, 4/11).

~ "The Afghan 'Rape Law': A View from Kandahar," Vanessa Gezari, "The XX Factor," Slate: It is "curious that the so-called Afghan 'rape law' has drawn such fury in the U.S. and Europe," because "being bound by written law to have sex with your husband on a regular basis is no better or worse than the de facto law under which a great majority of Afghan women already live," Gezari writes. She continues, "The more interesting question is why this is being treated like a new outrage when it really is an enduring one," adding that "an Afghan man -- like a man in many other parts of the world -- can have sex with his wife anytime he wants, whether she wants it or not." This "shouldn't surprise us" when the U.S. has statutes, such as one in Ohio, that legalize spousal rape in some cases, according to Gezari. Gezari notes that the "grave concern" over the law from the Western world "devalues the everyday struggles faced by all Afghan women, as opposed to the 10% to 20% who, as Shias, would be governed by the proposed law." She continues, "The conversation about where Afghan women stand, where they should stand, and what changes are needed in both law and practice to bring them there must be undertaken by Afghans in the context of their own culture, or risk sparking a xenophobic backlash that could ultimately be more damaging to women's interests," Gezari writes, adding that the "encouraging" signatures of more than 100 Afghan officials on a petition opposing the law "carry far more weight, in this instance, than the words of a U.S. president" (Gezari, "The XX Factor," Slate, 4/13).














~ "We're Back! U.S. Reclaims Leadership Role in International Reproductive Health," Sharon Camp, RH Reality Check: "[F]or the first time in eight years, the United States was front and center in advocating an increased global commitment to reproductive health and rights" during this month's annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, Camp writes. According to Camp, the U.S.' new position on reproductive health, renewed support for the United Nations Population Fund, the recent reversal of the "global gag rule" and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's statement that women's rights are human rights make it "safe to say: The U.S. is back! Or, more precisely, back on track." However, the "policies of the past eight years have left a lot of catching up to do," Camp writes, adding that the current $545 million allocated for international family planning assistance still "falls far short of the $1 billion that represents the minimum U.S. share of the global commitment." In addition, although the U.S. "contributes more funds than any other country toward voluntary family planning services worldwide, European nations far outspend the United States in terms of the proportion of the gross domestic product allocated to foreign assistance," Camp writes. She continues that meeting international development goals will "require strong commitment and increased cooperation," concluding, "For this to work, the United States must maintain a clear leadership role and European donors cannot back away now just because the United States has returned to the scene" (Camp, RH Reality Check, 4/14).

~ "Stem Cells Proffer New Hope for Infertility," Deborah Kotz, U.S. News and World Report's "On Women": A recently published study suggesting that ovaries "may indeed be able to churn out new eggs could provide hope for those women who find they don't have enough healthy eggs left when they're ready to have a baby," Kotz writes. However, "[a]s exciting as this study is, its results are a far cry from demonstrating that such a technique can work in women," she continues, adding, "If it does though, it could solve a lot of fertility problems." Kotz writes, "If and when [several] hurdles are overcome, we then have to worry that the technique could be misused in older women well beyond menopause." She concludes, "Like other fertility treatments, this one, if it's shown to work, has the potential for widespread abuse" (Kotz, "On Women," U.S. News and World Report, 4/13).


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