Story

Vanishing Girls of Pakistan

June 14, 2012 | Pulitzer Center
By
Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann, for the Pulitzer Center

At Race View Clinic in Lahore, doctors say they dread telling couples that they are having a girl. The news almost always upsets them. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

Dr. Saida Zafar, an 86-year-old gynecologist at Race View Clinic, says she tells all her patients they are having a boy so the women will not abort the pregnancy. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

Dr. Saida Zafar performs an ultrasound examination on a pregnant woman. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

Stephan Klasen, the chair of Development Economics at the
University of Goettingen in Germany, who has studied the phenomenon of “missing girls,” a term he uses to refer to the troubling trend in some countries caused by the preference for males over females. He says Pakistan has a huge problem: “Currently the country has 6 percent more males than females and that’s no act of nature.” Image by Hilke Schellmann. Pakistan, 2012.

Doctors deliver a baby girl through a c-section at the clinic. The baby's birth upsets the family. This is their second daughter. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

An hour or so after being born the baby girl slept alone. Her family remained outside and refused to see her because they were so upset at having another daughter. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

Dr. Ain-ul-Ghazala, 58, a gynecologist at Race View Clinic, has three daughters. Some women refuse to have her treat them during their pregnancy because they see her as possibly bringing bad luck. Image by Habiba Nosheen. Pakistan, 2012.

Pakistan is facing a growing gender imbalance due to a parental preference for boys over girls. Increasing numbers of educated and wealthy women are choosing to abort female babies. As ultrasound technology becomes more widely available experts predict that Pakistan’s gender gap will only get worse.

While India and China have long been in the spotlight for having a similar problem, the crisis in Pakistan has largely been hidden because the country has not published a population census in the last 14 years. But experts who have studied the problem say their research shows Pakistan is facing a growing deficit of baby girls and that if this imbalance is not addressed, it will likely cause severe social and economic distress.