Indian families’ traditional preference for sons over daughters has led to the existence of millions of “unwanted” girls in the country, a new government report estimates. Many parents eager for boys continue to have children until the desired number of sons are born, according to a report released Monday as part of the finance ministry’s annual economic survey. The report estimates that these “unwanted” girls number more than 21 million. Despite those “unwanted” girls, India’s male-to-female sex ratio at birth still tilts significantly in favor of males. Even families in wealthier Indian states show a preference for having sons.

Source: Huffington Post January 30, 2018 21:22 UTC