Blog # 1

 In the article “One-Child Policy is One Big Problem for China” by Susan scutti published on Newsweek.com January 23, 2014, the author describes what the one child policy is and how families can be affected by it. In 1979 the government wanted to do something about the population of China so they made the one child policy to decrease China’s 975 millon people. In the early 1980’s rural villages concentrated on coercive practices that include things like forced late-term abortions and involuntary sterilization as well as the “neighborly” snitching on pregnant couples who dared to have a 2^nd child. Later Blackish rural communities prompted the government to modify the rule and give those families the right to have a 2^nd child when their first was either a girl or disabled. “This pairing of “girl” and “disabled” is hardly an accident” Sons not only carry the family line, they are expected to provide for their parents during the elder years. When a women marries, she is obligated to her husband’s family so her parents have no one to care for them in their elder years. Sadly, abortions do not account for all the missing girls in China. There are currently 32 million more boys under the age of 20 than girls in China. In 2000 14.7% of unmarried men admitted to paying for sex which is growing a market for trafficking women in Mongolia, North Korea and many others.

I looked at this article many different ways, I enjoyed it because reading about different cultures and how they do things are interesting because no place is ever the same. Saying that I don’t agree with what was done. Only letting parents have one child is not the right way to do things, the government shouldn't be able to choose the lifestyle families have to live, especially with them being aware of what’s going to happen if they have a girl. They have no one to care for them when they are elders, and what could happen with their daughter before that. I also don’t agree with the girls once they are married being obligated to the husbands family, if the girl wants to stay in contact with her parents, that should be her choice. My only question would be what happens to the girls that don’t get aborted? Overall it was a very interesting article and I thoroughly enjoyed it.