In China, for example, girls have steadily advanced in terms of higher education. In 1999 they formed 39.77 percent of college entrants. Now they are in the majority.

The gender gap is certainly not irreversible. Take the example of South Korea, traditionally one of the most rigid of Asian patriarchal societies, where women are rapidly turning away from the old sons-first concept.

As a result, the gender imbalance at birth has dropped from 116 boys to 100 girls down to 108 in this century alone. That brings the country close to the global "norm" of 105.

One comment I liked came from Park He-ran, 61, a newspaper executive, who recalled that years ago when she gave birth to three sons in succession, people flocked to ask what was her secret. Now, when she admits to having no daughter, they commiserate with her.

Alarmed by the rise in sex-preference abortions, Korean officials launched a high-profile campaign to change public attitudes with slogans such as "One daughter raised well is worth 10 sons!"

China has also worked hard to promote this idea, with mixed results. Nationally, the gender ratio is still far too high - 119 to 100 - which some experts have calculated eventually will leave perhaps 34 million men unable to find a bride, unless they shop abroad.

There are both social and economic consequences to a skewed birth rate. In a 2003 paper studying the effects of the "missing girl" problem, sociologists Cai Yong and William Lavely predicted China's future population size would be reduced by almost 14 per cent over the next century if it failed to improve the gender ratio.

This might have a serious impact on the country's ability to maintain the high economic growth we have become used to - and which is vital if the government is achieve its goal of raising living standards for everyone in the country.

It may take some time for rural areas to abandon the idea that only boys can bring "happiness" to a family, but there are signs this belief is waning in some of the biggest cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, which have helped reduce the national male-female ratio slightly for the first time since 1953.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/geoffreymurray.htm

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