I wish I could tell you that the gender selection in 5 TO 1 was entirely fictional. Unfortunately, although I exaggerated the boy/girl ratio to make a point, the truth is that gender selection is very real. In India, China and many other parts of the world, girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of this “gendercide”.
According to the India Population Census 2011:
- In India overall, there are 943 females per 1000 males
- For children, that same ratio drops to 919 females per 1000 males
- In children under 6, this means there are almost 7 million more boys than girls
For more information on this issue, watch the documentary It’s a Girl (available for private screenings in the classroom or on DVD, Netflix and iTunes).