Declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) due to gender-biased sex selection has been noted throughout Asia. While India and China's CSR continue to be declining, South Korea has shown improvements in the past decades. Gender-biased sex selection refers to daughter aversion in society. It includes the unethical and illegal use of reproductive technologies like ultrasound, sperm separation etc. followed by selective elimination of females, pre or post-conception. This has led to a skewed CSR where the number of girls born is much less than boys. This paper will strive to examine the various policies that have been unfurled in these countries to counter gender-biased sex selection. The primary aim is to examine the elements of gender sensitivity in the policies and determine whether they contribute to gender equality. The theoretical framework of measuring gender equality and pointing out to the contradictions, contestations and challenges in these policies will be drawn from the rich and variegated range of feminist perspectives. A syncretic feminist approach would empower policies to counter population issues such as gender biased sex selection.

Bijayalaxmi Nanda, Associate Professor at Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.

Disciplinary field: Sociology and Political Science