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June 2004, Vol. 10, No. 2 Gender and Health All things being equal, women have an advantage over men in healthy life expectancy. In industrialized countries healthy life expectancy for women is about two years longer than for men. Researchers have cited both biological and environmental reasons for this “female advantage.” Not only are women genetically hardier, they also take fewer risks in general than men do. Population Council program associate Fariyal F. Fikree wondered, however, whether this female advantage existed in settings with significant discrimination against women. She collaborated with Omrana Pasha of Emory University’s Women’s and Children’s Center to explore this question.
South Asia Discrimination against females starts before birth. In vitro fertilization, in which couples can opt to select the sex of the embryo that is transferred to the uterus, is becoming more common. Ultrasound technology can be used to determine the sex of a fetus, and selective abortion of female fetuses is common in some areas. Female infanticide also occurs. These practices have led to severely skewed ratios of females to males in South Asia. During early childhood, South Asian girls are often subjected to “benign neglect.” Their nutrition is poorer than that of their male counterparts, they are immunized less frequently, and visits to the doctor are delayed. “A girl between her first and fifth birthday in India or Pakistan has a 30 to 50 percent higher chance of dying than a boy,” notes Pasha. In adolescence, young women face new challenges to their health. Young South Asian women are at risk for violence in the form of suicide and “dowry murder,” the killing of a bride whose dowry has been found lacking. Many women bear their first child in adolescence, a situation that can raise the health risks during pregnancy. Even for South Asian women who give birth in adulthood, antenatal care and reproductive health care in general are poor, and home deliveries in unsanitary conditions are common. Complicating this situation is the fact that women are less likely than men to seek or have access to adequate health care. Fikree and Pasha believe that “current societal circumstances make the cost of having a daughter so high that families may be unwilling to invest scarce resources for their benefit. Attempts to address gender disparities must take into account underlying economic issues.” Sri Lanka, for example, spends a higher percentage of its gross domestic product on education and health than any of the other countries studied. As a result, Sri Lanka has minimal gender differences in education and employment levels. Moreover, it is the one South Asian country identified by the researchers where women enjoy the female health advantage. The researchers conclude, “In the South Asian sociocultural context, the violation of fundamental human rights and especially reproductive rights of women plays an important part in harming the health of females. It is therefore imperative that policymakers, program managers, and health workers take special care to overcome discrimination against girls and women and pay attention to their vulnerability.” Source See Also
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