Program gives rural girls a boost

A program called "Care for Girls" will help improve young women's ability to develop themselves in life and eventually change rural residents' preference for giving birth to boys, said He Yongchang, deputy head of Qingjian county's family planning bureau in Shaanxi province.

The program, also known as "Achieve Girls' Dreams", was initiated by the National Health and Family Planning commission in 2013. It aims to help girls in undeveloped areas.

A training course for girls in Qingjian county was offered early this month.

"If a woman becomes more capable and contributes more to society, more people will naturally want daughters," He said.

The mountainous county, located in northern Shaanxi, is among 50 others in the province that receive support from the central government for lifting people out of poverty.

The county's sex ratio at birth in 2013 was 109 males to 100 females, according to He.

That ratio, though lower than the national rate of 117.6 males, is still higher than the normal range of 103 to 107, he said, attributing the imbalance to a preference for boys among rural people.

"People in the rural areas feel that it's their responsibility to have a son and pass on the blood of the family," he said. "Also, the son will share a lot of the physical work."

To keep the ratio of males from climbing, the county has asked hospitals to abstain from fetal gender testing and abortion unless there is a medical reason, he said.

"Every obstetrician and every doctor in the ultrasound department has signed a pledge with the hospitals. They will be punished if they are found to do what is forbidden," he said. "Also, we've put up posters in ultrasonic test rooms to warn doctors and patients against illegal behavior."

To encourage families who have obeyed the family planning policy and give birth to girls, the county also awards daughters 20 points in the senior high school entrance exam.

He said he hopes that the program will provide an opportunity for some of the county's girls to experience school life in developed cities, such as Beijing.

"What we mean by poverty is not that one cannot fill their stomach or get enough clothes. It's that people in the country lack access to the cultivation and education available in a large city," he said.

"The girls taking part in the program are very active, smart and articulate, and the program can help them discover their talents. They long to experience the outside world."