An Indian state government is investigating claims that young girls are being forced into sex change operations by parents who want sons to improve the family's financial prospects. It is being alleged by newspaper investigations that girls as young as ages one to five are being sent from all over India to the city of Indore, in eastern Madhya Pradesh, where unscrupulous doctors are performing hundreds of sex-change operations. Indian culture favors males for their income earning potential plus they won’t cost their families what are often considered wasted educational expenses and wedding dowries associated with girls. The president of the Indian Academy of Pediatricians has described the revelations as shocking. He says the male hormones administered as part of the sex changes will mean that the children's sexual organs will not grow, leaving them both impotent and infertile in later life. Other child health experts are expressing grave fears for the children's psychological well-being as they become adults. India's Centre for Social Research describes the practice as a sign of the country's "growing social madness."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 29th June 2011 - 10:34pm