been stealing diamonds. that regulations had been breached: but at the beginning they didn't say any of that For two months we triod to get negotiations. The women and uncir tamines were in a veny desperate state. The wages we had been caring - between 2,500 and 6,000 rupees (£35 -E75) per month were somefamilies had and the jobs were very important to us.
On the 24th of July we were supposed finally to get a meeting with the General Manager of the Company. We'd spoken to the Labour Minister because we couldn't the G.M to talk to us and we were promised he would turn up. He didn't show.
We were CHINA is one of several Asian countries, including India, Taiwan and Korea whose demographics have become skewed by the overwhelming desire for male children.
This, in the case of China, is in a country where there is a strict one child policy, and where abortion has become A massive 97.5 percent of all abortions are of female foetuses.
This is largety due to increased access to ultrasound rural families feeling the need to have male children to perdetermination of the sex of a petuate the family name and foetus, especially during the inherit the property. Boys are last 15 years. also valued over girts for their In 1993 the government ability to do farm labour! banned hospitals from using ultrasound to disclose the sex benefits for the elderty has of a child. made them more dependent However sex-selection on their families and sons for abortions continue as the support. centuries-old preference for There has also been female sons is bolstered by changing infanticide and the abandoneconomic circumstances ment, starvation and neglect around the country. of girts. Newspapers recently The break up of the collec- reported that one couple in tive farms has led to many rural China had five girls and drowned each in succession.
However the problem of abandoned, aborted, muronly been raised when it is posed as a problem for men getting brides - which is discrimination in itself. cerned about the issue because of the fear of men who may have difficulty finding a wife. Woren are still not part of the picture", said Gu Baochang of the China Population Information and Research Centre.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 89, September 9 1995, Page 10 explains the positive quality