THE WAR AGAINST GIRLS

 Jonathan V. Last; June 17, 2011; The Wall Street Journal; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576361691165631366.html

Level of Difficulty:*
Related Video by Jonathan V. Last:http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-journal-the-war-against-girls/4AAE214F-CC9E-4B0C-8219-D214CDB2A67F.html#!4AAE214F-CC9E-4B0C-8219-D214CDB2A67F

QUESTIONS

1.       What does the phrase “this gender imbalance” in paragraph 1 refer to?

2.       Explain in your own words what you think the word “ironclad” in the same paragraph means.

3.       What is the function of the last sentence of paragraph 1?

4.       Explain in your own words what you think the word “mammoth” in paragraph 2 means.

5.       Why do you think the global average is described as impossible?

6.       What does “this” refer to in the phrase “Moral horror aside, this is likely to be of very large consequence”?

7.       Why do couples seem to prefer to abort baby girls according to the text? Use your own words.

8.       Two surprising pieces of information concerning aborting baby girls are provided in the text. What are they?

9.       Read the examples provided in paragraph 7 concerning Athens, 19^th century China and the American West and state clearly what conclusion we can draw from them.

10.   It is claimed that in India today, the best predictor of violence and crime for any given area is not income but sex ratio. State clearly why this is so.

11.   Why have men started paying for brides? Use your own words and be very specific.

12.   According to the text, there is a high demand for US treasury bills. What, exactly, is the reason for this?

13.   There are two additional consequences of the high ratio of male births in terms of the individuals and in terms of society. They are:

14.   What does “this” in the sentence “This assessment is true only in the crudest sense” in paragraph 11 refer to?

15.   What grave consequence does the gender imbalance described in the text have on women in developing countries?

16.   Read paragraph 12 and discuss your views on the opinions expressed there.

17.   What short sighted and ill-advised solution to population control was advocated by both private individuals and reputable organizations?

18.   In paragraph 15, first find a word which means deeply rooted and then find a word which means to blame.

19.   What undesirable reaction is Ms. Hvistendhal concerned about in relation to abortion?

20.   What two solutions does Ms. Hvistendhal advocate to tackle abuse?

21.   Read the last paragraph of the text and pay special attention to the concluding statement. Now discuss to what extent you agree with the view expressed here and whether you feel there are other more appropriate solutions to the problem. Should you decide to write about the effects of gender imbalabce, go to the bbc website, www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine and find the following article: The Girls Stolen From The Streets Of India by Natalia Anteleva. Read it carefully and refer to it while writing

THE WAR AGAINST GIRLS; Jonathan V. Last; published in The Wall Street Journal

Answer Key and Notes

It is suggested that you write the title of the text on the board before distributing the texts and elicit a discussion. While actually working with the text you might want to divide it into chunks for practical purposes; the decision is yours. A few vocabulary items students may not know are used in the questions but it is believed that this also constitutes a learning opportunity.

ANSWER KEY

1.       There are many more men than women.

2.       It does not change; it is fixed

3.       Thesis statement

4.       Huge

5.       Open ended. See if the students can predict any of the problems later mentioned in the text resulting from this imbalance.

6.       The fact that in the past three decades, 163 million girls, who by biological averages should have been born, are missing from the world.

7.       Girls require a dowry which is expensive. Students need to use their own words.

8.       It is usually the country’s rich, not its poor, who lead the way in choosing against girls and the decision to abort baby girls is usually made by women.

9.       Societies in which men outnumber women are not nice places to live. Often they are unstable. Sometimes they are violent.

10.   Surplus men accumulate in lower classes where risks of violence are already elevated. And unmarried men with limited incomes tend to make trouble.

11.   Because there aren’t enough girls to go round.

12.   Parents know they must save up to secure brides for their sons.

13.   Men in wealthier countries poach women from poorer countries or the mail order bride business booms; prostitution booms.

14.   When women become scarce, their value increases.

15.   It propagates a female underclass

16.   Open ended

17.   Sex selective abortion as a means of controlling population

18.   Ingrained; to fault

19.   A ban on all abortions

20.   Banning the common practice of revealing the sex of a baby; investigating women carrying female fetuses requesting abortions.

21.   Open ended. If you wish, this question could lead to some free writing or a problem solution essay or paragraph.