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Hundreds Of Baby Girls Found Dead In Pakistan Garbage Dumps

Hundreds Of Baby Girls Found Dead In Pakistan Garbage Dumps

Police say poverty and illiteracy are root causes, though this is disputed by charities

Ronan O'Shea

Ronan O'Shea

Three hundred and forty-five dead babies have been found at garbage heaps in Pakistan since the start of 2017, according to a report by Pakistan's the News International.

Of the dead children, 99 percent were reported to be girls, fuelling suspicions of infanticide. There were 93 cases in Karachi - Pakistan's most populous city - in 2017, with 23 already this year.

According to the Daily Mail, police say poverty and illiteracy are root causes, something disputed by charities.

Losar dump site, 40km from Rawalpindi city, Pakistan.
PA

The Edhi Center argues that the majority of the cases were the result of births outside wedlock, adding that boys born to unmarried parents were more likely to be protected.

Poverty as the overriding factor for the deaths was disputed by others, including Tahera Hasan, director of Imkaan Welfare Organisation.

Speaking to the News International, she said: "Poverty cannot be the only reason for infanticide or child abandonment. If a person has eight children then another one won't be a burden on him.

"We need to look into other aspects as well. Illegitimacy can be another major cause of child abandonment but unfortunately very little work has been done on this issue because of the sensitivity of the issue."

Newborn babies at a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.
PA

She added that it was important to investigate the causes of death of each child. This would provide firmer statistics on the rate of infanticide in the country.

"We need to focus on family planning and there is a need of a proper awareness campaign to reduce misconception about family planning in the masses. This is a way of controlling unwanted pregnancies and ultimately unwanted children too," she said.

The News International reported that charities have attempted to dissuade people from committing infanticide by leaving Jhoolas (baby cradles) where people could leave unwanted children alive. However, the use of these cradles was disappointingly low, possibly due to the power of the country's religious leadership, which believes that they will promote illegitimacy.

A garbage dump site in Islamabad, Pakistan.
PA

A report by Oxford Institute of Population Ageing pointed towards a 'son preference' in Pakistan which may go some way towards explaining the huge disparity between the number of dead girls found in comparison to boys.

Titled, 'Son Preference and Family Limitation in Pakistan', it argued that the 'son preference' i.e. a preference for couples to have boys, for various reasons, had become more prevalent in Pakistan in recent generations.

Both infanticide and child abandonment are illegal in Pakistan, but rates of reporting such crimes are very low. In 2017, only one case of infanticide was reported to police in Karachi.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Children, World News, Pakistan