Gender Preference among the mothers of Kamrup district of Assam, India: A cross sectional study

Background: Gender discrimination is a social evil and preference for the boy child is a matter of concern all over the world . Objectives: The present study was carried out to look for gender preference amongst the mothers of Kamrup district of Assam,to find out the reasons for preferring child of a particular gender and to look for the rural urban differences in gender preference.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done from August 2013 to July 2014 in Kamrup District, Assam, India. Mothers who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study. A total of 400 mothers were interviewed. Results: Majority of the respondents (56%) showed no gender preference of which 54.9% belonged to rural areas and 45.1% to urban areas. Among the respondents who preferred a male child, most (30%) in the rural areas cited “increase in work force” as the reason. And in the urban areas, male child was preferred (42.86%) as sons continue the family lineage. The reasons for desiring a girl child in the rural areas was because the respondents found daughters to be more dependable in times of need (29.73%).On the other hand, in urban areas, most of the respondents preferred girl child as they complete the family (31.03%).Conclusion: The present findings reveal that the mothers of the study area had no gender preference for their child. The rest of India should be inspired and take steps to abolish the social evil of gender discrimination.