Preference for Sons

A Principal Form of Gender Discrimination and Violation of Women’s Rights in Tanzania

Abstract

Preference for male children is a powerful traditional belief, prevailing in numerous tribes in Tanzania. It is tied to inheritance and has remained inviolable because of the desire for a son to carry on the family name and guarantee its lineage. Females are generally viewed as inferior and subordinate to males. The huge pressure on women to produce a son not only directly affects their reproductive decisions, with implications for their health and survival, but it also puts them in the position of perpetuating the lower status of girls through the preference for sons. It is also women who have to bear the consequences of giving birth to an unwanted girl child, which include violence, abandonment, divorce or even death in some case. It perpetuates the lower status accorded to girls by the family, community and society. This article examines the issue of preference for sons as a pernicious violence inflicted on women in Tanzania. It highlights how preference for sons reflects and fuels a culture of discrimination and violence, and should be addressed as a matter of human rights.