No country for girl child

The perceived importance of having a son continues to exert manifold pressure on women.

Sapana, a 35-year-old mother of seven daughters, has been giving birth every two years or so in the hopes of bearing a son. Forty-five-year-old Lalmati Dhami, who told this paper that her reproductive health had deteriorated over the years, is another example. Her first four children are daughters, and she bore two more children, both sons. The youngest is just seven years old. In Baitadi, where both women hail from, district health officials say women face many health repercussions, both physical and mental, as they face constant pressure to keep on bearing children until they give birth to a son.