Brides Wanted!
By Quynh Thu
Gender imbalance at birth remains a headache for Vietnam and HCM City, as no effective measures to wipe out sex selection can be taken effectively at the moment
This may be a distant future, but it is a reality. Well, if you’re a male resident in HCM City, an awkward situation may arise: Experts have warned that without effective measures, by 2030, some 30 million male Vietnamese will be unable to get married during their lifetime because there are not enough brides for them. Over the past several years, the sex ratio imbalance has continued to rise across provinces and cities—including this city—in Vietnam.
The above warning was relayed late last year by Nguyen Van Tan, deputy general director of the General Department of Population and Family Planning (GDPFP) under the Ministry of Health.
In an article in Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Tan said the gender imbalance at birth rose drastically from 105 male inborn babies per 100 female inborn babies in 1979 to 112/100 in 2007.
Ten provinces post the highest ratio which ranges from 115/100 to 128/100. They include Bac Ninh, Bac Giang,
Hai Duong, Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh in the north; Binh Dinh and Ninh Thuan in the central; and Tien Giang, Dong Nai and Bac Lieu in the Mekong Delta.
Pham Ba Nhat, head of the Population and Family Planning under the GDPFP, told Tuoi Tre that Vietnam’s sex ratio imbalance at birth—112 males/100 females—is now equal to that of China in 1989. This imbalance will likely lead to economic and social problems in the future.
Every new year brings more than one million new young citizens to Vietnam. Last year, about 1.3 million children were born which is equal to the population of an entire average province.
The rising trend is going on this year as well, said Nguyen Ba Thuy, Deputy Minister of Health, during a teleconference held in May. In this meeting, provinces and cities throughout the country discussed national policies on population and family planning.
“The rising sex imbalance is worrying,” said Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu.
The situation in HCM City—though still not on a red alert—conforms to the general trend. The city’s vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thu Ha said the rate here was higher than the national average, at 113/100 versus 112/100.
One may rest assured when taking a look at the demographical changes in HCM City obtained from the HCM City Statistics Office. According to the office’s 2007 Yearbook, the number of registered residents of HCM City jumped from 5.2 million in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2004, 6.4 million in 2006 and 6.7 million in 2007. During that time, the ratio of males was 48.2%, 48.2%, 48% and 47.9%, respectively. In other words, men still outnumber women in the overall population.
However, a closer analysis reveals a different picture. In a July interview, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Ward of the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacology Hospital, said the sex ratio imbalance at birth seen at her hospital was worrisome. During the first six months of this year, the rate was 116/100, Ha said.
From the factual account given by Dr. Ha, one may figure out that the city’s sex ratio balance has been retained by immigration from other provinces, and that precarious balance may be swung in the future. As is the case in other provinces and cities in Vietnam, gender imbalance remains a reality in HCM City.
Quoted by Tuoi Tre, Duong Quoc Trong, vice head of the GDPFP, said that as Asians, many Vietnamese want to have boys so that they can rely on when they are in old age. What’s more, inadequate social welfare and favor for women have prompted many to insist on having a male child.
Although scanning for sex has been made an offense and sex selection methods banned in Vietnam, authorities still find it very hard to implement the concerned regulations.
Beside gender equality, gender balance remains a tough task to be fulfilled.