Abstract
Son preference and daughter aversion are deep-seated in patriarchal, cultural and religious beliefs that uphold the essential value of having a son. However, little is known about the determinants of such preferential attitudes towards male children. The present study, using a population based survey data of 500 young married women (18–30 years) in rural north Dinajpur district of West Bengal, found that nearly 80% of the respondents felt that it is very important to have at least one son as against 56% who felt it is very important to have at least one daughter. Women belonging to Muslim communities were more likely to hold preferential attitude towards sons. On the other hand, women having any mass media exposure and belonging to upper wealth quintiles were less likely to hold preferential attitude towards sons.
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Sinha, A., Ram, F. (2020). Understanding the Preference to Have More Sons among Hindu and Muslim Women: A Case Study from North Dinajpur District of West Bengal. In: Chattopadhyay, A., Ghosh, S. (eds) Population Dynamics in Eastern India and Bangladesh. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3045-6_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3045-6_13
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