Student’s Name: Brittney Kling
Period #: 6
Mr. Cegielski
Human Geography
Activity: Are infanticide and one-child policies effective in controlling
population growth? Find out now!
Overview: The purpose of the assignment is two-fold:


To compare and contrast infanticide and one-child policies in India and China
To determine whether these policies are effective in controlling population growth.
Step #1: Read “Case Study: Female Infanticide.” As you read, complete the “T-Chart” below.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
The earliest records of
infanticide go as far
back as_____and
indicate that….
In what regions or areas
is female infanticide
practiced? Rural or
urban? North, south,
east, or west? Please be
specific.
What is the degree or
level to which female
infanticide is practiced?
Please be specific.
Why do some
individuals choose to
perform infanticides on
their own? Explain
some economic or
cultural factors.
INDIA
When Hindu beliefs led to the
permissible idea of infanticide and
they indicate that infanticide is a
religious thing.
Usually rural areas, as it is not out
of the norm to do this. It is “a
centuries-old tradition”.
CHINA
When the one-child policy started and
they indicate that the government was
the reason for infanticide.
“7,999 out of 8,000 of the aborted
fetuses were females”
“929 females per 1,000 males”
“105 to 106 boys per 100 girls for live
births within the plan”
“115 to 118 [girls] for 1984-87 [boys]”
Girls are more expensive and don’t
make as much money.
“The problem is also intimately tied to
There is only one child allowed, and
extras cause legal issues.
“Couples are penalized by wage-cuts
and reduced access to social services
when children are born ‘outside the
plan.’"
Are infanticide or onechild policies enforced
by the government?
What measures are
taken to enforce these
policies?
What have been the
short-term and longterm effects of female
Neither are.
One-child policies are. Legal
repercussions for 2+ kids.
There are less girls than there are
boys, meaning the possible couples
that could have babies in the future
Very similar to India, actually more
extreme, where there are less girls, so
many future men will be wifeless.
the institution of dowry, in which the
family of a prospective bride must pay
enormous sums of money to the family
in which the woman will live after
marriage.”
It seems as if this is permissible
everywhere. Both rural and urban
areas.
infanticide on the
population?
is limited to the amount of females
there are at the time.
Step #2: Essential Question: Are infanticide and one-birth control policies effective in controlling
population growth in India and China? You will need to conduct research in a good atlas and/or on the
Internet to answer these questions in the “T-Chart.” A good place to start your Internet search for some
general information is the CIA Factbook at www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook. You can also conduct
a Google search and use the following key words: “infanticide” and “population control” in India and
China.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
The current population
growth rate is _____.
This rate is _____
(higher/lower) than
previous years
because…
Compared to other
major countries in the
world, the growth rate is
_____ (higher/lower)
because….
The current measures to
control population
growth are
effective/ineffective
because…
I support/oppose the
current population
control policies in place
because… Other means
to control population
include…
INDIA
1.28%
The rate is lower than it was in
2009 because the sex ratio of girls
to boys is low, meaning there are
less fertile couples to continue
having babies.
Higher because India has a lot of
people in it, making more and more
babies.
CHINA
0.46%
The rate is lower than in previous
years because of the one child policy
in addition to the sex ratio being
wacky.
In one respect, yes, the population
control methods have cut the
population growth percent in half,
but, they do not have a strict policy
like the one child policy to keep
population rates down.
I support the current population
control policies in place because
contraceptives are better than
infanticide. Other means to control
population include adopting a one
child policy.
The one child policy is helpful because
it does cut down the population growth
rate drastically.
Lower because the one child policy is
letting two people only make one
person.
I support the current population
control policies in place because one
child policies are better than
infanticide. Other means to control
population include contraceptives.
The following resources were helpful during my research. Please indicate at least (3) three which
you used:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html
http://data.worldbank.org/country