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Azerbaijan sees rapid male population growth over past 2 decades

31 May 2018 09:50 (UTC +04:00)

Violation of women’s rights and gender violence are of the main global issues mankind is faced with, said Deputy Chairperson of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Sadagat Gahramanova.

She made the remarks on Thursday at a final conference of the project “Enlightening youth for the promotion of the values of female children in Azerbaijan,” APA reports.

Gahramanova said the manipulation of children’s sex ratio is a form of violence, stressing that this attitude is violence against women, their health and unborn girls.

At the same time, sex-wise discrimination against children within the family is another problem, she noted.

The deputy chairperson added that many countries around the world is facing the problem of upset gender balance in children.

“While the deliberate pregnancy termination rate accounts for 28 million in developed nations, this figure is as high as 182 million in developing countries. Over the past two decades, Azerbaijan has witnessed a rapid growth of male population, and as a result the sex ratio among the population has equaled. At present, the proportions of men and women in the country make up 49.9% and 50.1% respectively,” she said.

Gahramanova said that the change of child sex ratio is a matter of concern for society, noting that this process does not happen naturally in most cases.

“It is important to improve enlightenment activities and health services in order to resolve the problem. Especially, it is essential to carry out enlightenment campaigns like family planning, prevention of unwanted pregnancy, artificial insemination, and reproductive health protection in rural areas,” she said.

According to the deputy chairperson, a National Reproductive Health Strategy for 2017-2025 is being developed currently.

“In addition, the work done in this field in recent years has also been positive. Thus, the ratio of newborns was 100 girls to 117 boys in 2015, while specific weight of girls among newborns was 46.8% in 2016, and the ratio was 100 girls to 114 boys (biological norm is 100 girls to 105-107 boys). At present, the ratio is 100 girls to 112 boys,” she added.