Why three million women less than men in Pakistan?

In this survey, it is also stated that in 2017, the population of Pakistan was two hundred and seven point six million, which has now increased to two hundred and twenty point 42 million.

In Pakistan, men die more than women in many incidents including terrorism, linguistic and tribal conflicts, industrial and traffic accidents. Drugs also have a large number of men. Despite this, men outnumber women in Pakistan. DW talked to various experts and social personalities in this regard.

Some medical experts believe that the survey reflects reality and is close to scientific facts, while some critics cast doubt on it.

Former Secretary General of Pakistan Medical Association Dr. Sher Shah Syed says that pregnancies are lost in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and other poor countries. He told DW, “These incidents have happened on a very large scale in India. It may be happening in Pakistan too but overall this survey reflects the scientific facts because it is estimated that if 110 boys are born in the world, about 100 girls are born. Boys are more susceptible to the disease while girls have a relatively low rate because they carry their mother’s hormones. “Boys also get hormones from their mothers, but when their hormones develop, there is a little lag, whereas girls don’t.”

Former president of Pakistan Medical Association Dr. Tipu Sultan says that maternal complications can be one of the reasons for increasing the mortality rate among women. “In Pakistan, an estimated 274 out of 100,000 women lose their lives during childbirth, which is the highest in South Asia,” she told DW. Such deaths are low in Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s number is second in this region after Afghanistan.

According to Dr. Tipu Sultan, our rate is high because most of the births are done at home or by traditional midwives or other methods in the absence of expert doctors and medical staff. “Whereas in Sri Lanka it is less because there are a large number of births in hospitals and under the supervision of trained doctors or medical staff.”

Dr. Nighat Shah, a medical expert from Karachi, says that women face three problems during childbirth. “Women lose a lot of blood during childbirth and it can lead to medical complications if not treated in time,” she told DW. In the same way, women start having seizures due to high blood pressure. While women also get infections.

According to Dr. Nighat Shah, if these cases are not treated properly, medical complications increase, which leads to death in many cases. “Pregnancy loss rates have also doubled in Pakistan, potentially leading to increased medical complications.”

Dr. Nighat Shah disagrees that infanticide is rampant in Pakistan. “Determining the gender is difficult in the early stages and when it is accurately determined, it is not easy to discard the pregnancy.” So people want boys and keep having children until a boy is born.”

Mahnaz Rehman from Aurat Foundation says that there has been no research in Pakistan like India to say with certainty that infanticide has taken place here. He told DW, “Amrita Sen has done research in India, but no one is telling about it here. So there are no statistics on infanticide. Yes, women die more because of social attitudes. Girls are not given proper food. No attention is given to treatment. Women are not taken care of after childbirth. In such a situation, a minor illness turns out to be fatal.”

The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and former member of the National Assembly, Dr. Samia Raheel Qazi, claims that in her opinion, this survey does not reflect the reality. “Everywhere around us we see more and more girls and I don’t think the number of women in Pakistan has decreased,” she told DW. Pakistan does not have infanticide on a large scale like India and there is no mass abortion of pregnancies here. So I don’t find weight in the fact that the number of women is less than men.”