Tweet
SEX IMBALANCES AT BIRTH THREATEN ARMENIA'S DEMOGRAPHY: "MISSING" WOMEN, DECREASING POPULATION, MARRIAGE PROBLEMS
12:45 02/05/2013 " SOCIETY
Today, UNFPA Armenia Country Office held a press conference and a
following conference to present the findings of the 2012-2013 "Sex
Imbalances at Birth in Armenia: Demographic Evidence and Analysis"
study findings. The purpose of the study was an in-depth analysis
of sex-at-birth imbalances in Armenia and projecting the possible
consequences of the skewed sex ratio for the country. The study
was conducted by Christophe Z Guilmoto, senior fellow at the French
Institut de recherche pour le development (IRD, Research Institute
for Development) based at CEPED in Paris and a leading expert on
the issue of prenatal sex selection, at the request of UNFPA Armenia
Country Office.
Dr. Guilmoto, together with Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA Representative
for Turkey and Country Director for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,
and Mr. Garik Hayrapetyan, UNFPA Armenia Assistant Representative spoke
at the press conference. As the speakers indicated, the sex ratio at
birth in Armenia rose after early 90s and today remains at a very high
level of 114-115 of male births per 100 female births. This corresponds
to one of the highest levels of birth masculinity observed anywhere
in the world, surpassed only by China (118) and Azerbaijan (116).
According to the study, if the adverse practice of preventing girls
from being born for the sake of having a boy is continued, almost
93,000 women will "go missing" and Armenia's population will reduce
by additional 80,000 inhabitants (it corresponds to the annual number
of births over two years) by 2060, constituting, ceteris paribus,
2.60 million.
As the speakers noted, in Armenia, male children born after 1996
already outnumber female children by almost 39,000. "If we fail to
prevent this process, part of men of the most active age in terms of
entering marriage, 20-39 year olds, will relatively soon face problems,
and being unable to find a pair will be forced either to migrate or
to look for wives from abroad", said Garik Hayrapetyan.
The press conference was followed by a conference, where the
representatives of different stakeholders were greeted by Mr. Arayik
Petrosyan, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Issues, and Dr.
Huque.
At the conference, Dr. Guilmoto presented the study findings in
deeper detail. In addition, a number of presentations were made
shedding light on the phenomenon of sex imbalances at birth from
a variety of perspectives including those of demographic, health,
social, and gender equality.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international
development agency that delivers a world where every pregnancy
is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person's potential is
fulfilled.
http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2013/05/02/gilmoto-hyuq/
12:45 02/05/2013 " SOCIETY
Today, UNFPA Armenia Country Office held a press conference and a
following conference to present the findings of the 2012-2013 "Sex
Imbalances at Birth in Armenia: Demographic Evidence and Analysis"
study findings. The purpose of the study was an in-depth analysis
of sex-at-birth imbalances in Armenia and projecting the possible
consequences of the skewed sex ratio for the country. The study
was conducted by Christophe Z Guilmoto, senior fellow at the French
Institut de recherche pour le development (IRD, Research Institute
for Development) based at CEPED in Paris and a leading expert on
the issue of prenatal sex selection, at the request of UNFPA Armenia
Country Office.
Dr. Guilmoto, together with Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA Representative
for Turkey and Country Director for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,
and Mr. Garik Hayrapetyan, UNFPA Armenia Assistant Representative spoke
at the press conference. As the speakers indicated, the sex ratio at
birth in Armenia rose after early 90s and today remains at a very high
level of 114-115 of male births per 100 female births. This corresponds
to one of the highest levels of birth masculinity observed anywhere
in the world, surpassed only by China (118) and Azerbaijan (116).
According to the study, if the adverse practice of preventing girls
from being born for the sake of having a boy is continued, almost
93,000 women will "go missing" and Armenia's population will reduce
by additional 80,000 inhabitants (it corresponds to the annual number
of births over two years) by 2060, constituting, ceteris paribus,
2.60 million.
As the speakers noted, in Armenia, male children born after 1996
already outnumber female children by almost 39,000. "If we fail to
prevent this process, part of men of the most active age in terms of
entering marriage, 20-39 year olds, will relatively soon face problems,
and being unable to find a pair will be forced either to migrate or
to look for wives from abroad", said Garik Hayrapetyan.
The press conference was followed by a conference, where the
representatives of different stakeholders were greeted by Mr. Arayik
Petrosyan, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Issues, and Dr.
Huque.
At the conference, Dr. Guilmoto presented the study findings in
deeper detail. In addition, a number of presentations were made
shedding light on the phenomenon of sex imbalances at birth from
a variety of perspectives including those of demographic, health,
social, and gender equality.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international
development agency that delivers a world where every pregnancy
is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person's potential is
fulfilled.
http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2013/05/02/gilmoto-hyuq/