NEW YORK, 18 August 2008: A new documentary, funded in part by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is now aired on BBC, spotlighting the issue of 700.000 missing girls in India due to peoples preference for male children.
“No country for young girls” explores issues such as illegal sex determination and consequent eli-mination, and its consequences for vast Asian nation in the years to come. It portrays a young Indian woman who has to choose between staying with a husband who does not want girl children, or to make it on her own.
A series of studies commissioned by UNFPA last year suggest prenatal son selection in several Asian countries – including India, China and Vietnam – is likely to have severe social consequences in coming years. The agency has been working to address the issue for many years.
The documentary is part of a nine-part series – entitled Life on the Edge – which examines the tough personal choices facing ordinary people as countries struggle to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs – 2015 Målene), the set of anti-poverty targets that world leaders have pledged to try to achieve by 2015.
– Films about developing countries often portray people as victims faced by terrible obstacles. In this series we show they are also people trying to make tough decisions that may change lives, says Steve Bradshaw, the editor of the series.
– Each film is about ordinary people having to make extraordinary choices – tough economic, political and moral dilemmas. It is never clear to them what the right answer is, and yet the cumulative effect will affect whether the MDGs are achieved, he stated.
Kilde: FNs Nyhedstjeneste
