Boys outnumber girls at a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Vietnamese government, concerned that too many boys are being born, will destroy more than 30,000 copies of books instructing couples on how to have a baby of their desired sex, AFP reported Friday.

Articles with the same content have been removed from seven websites, he said.

The United Nations Population Fund noted in May a steadily increasing sex ratio at birth, AFP said. The male to female ratio in Vietnam has climbed from 105:107 to 112:100 in the 1999-2007 period.

The ratio is alarming as it is far beyond the natural gender ratio of 103-106:100.

Experts have attributed the ratio to the traditional preference for male children in Vietnamese society, adding that gender diagnosis during pregnancy and abortion of female fetuses was the main cause of the imbalance.

The trend will make it difficult for millions of Vietnamese men to find wives if it continues, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said, according to state media.

“Obviously, the imbalance in SRB (sex ratio at birth) results from son preference and sex selection abortion practices,” the UN said.

Vietnam has prohibited all practices of fetal sex determination and selection, the UN noted.

“Furthermore, continued efforts must be made to strengthen public education and to promote gender equality to enhance the important role of women both within families and society,” the UN said.

Vietnam’s population has now reached 86.5 million, up 1.5 percent from 2007, making it the 13th most populous nation in the world.

The country has restricted families of state employees to two children, and threatens violators with punishments that range from fines to suspension from the Communist Party, Reuters said.

The male to female ratio in HCMC has reached an “alarming level” and could take a toll on the socio-economic development of the southern economic hub, said vice mayor Nguyen Thi Thu Ha.

Ha, who was speaking at a function Friday in anticipation of World Population Day (falling July 11), said the city had a birthrate of 115 boys for every 100 girls during the first four months of this year, compared with 110 boys for every 100 girls by the end of last year.

Grave consequences

Experts have warned of increasing sex-related crimes and general social disorder if the highly unnatural level of gender imbalance in the country is not addressed.

Many have called for the line between legal abortion and abortion based on gender to be drawn clearly. The latter must be banned, experts said.

Surveys have showed that more than 66 percent of pregnant women know their fetus’s gender before giving birth. Some 98 percent of women said they had found out via ultrasounds.

Although doctors are allowed to use ultrasound technology to examine fetus’ for defects or developmental issues, they are forbidden by law to notify parents of the baby’s gender.

But no penalties have been prescribed for doctors and medical staff found checking or revealing fetuses’ gender.

In Vietnam, the elderly and farmers still bore in mind that sons were the only people they could rely on to take care of them during old age. Daughters are considered outsiders as they have to live with their husbands’ families after their marriage.

Source: TN, Agencies