Critical Assessment of Asian Population Policies from a Demographic and Gender Perspective - Rahm, Laura
Population dynamics in Asia have become the center of attention across the globe. The result has been an urgency to examine the trajectory of population policies in Asia which are characterized by a shift from earlier coercive policies to a rights-based approach flag-shipped by the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. The aim of the panel is to critically assess population dynamics in select Asian countries from a demographic and gender perspective. To what degree have policies shaped the demographics of their countries; to which extent do the policies promote gender justice? The panel brings together researchers from across countries and disciplines with a focus on declining sex ratio and gender-biased sex selection. The organization of the panel will be scalar, from the macro level of historical context to the micro level of local implementation. It will start with a theoretical and historic mapping of population policies, followed by an analysis of the recent demographic trends and masculinization of sex ratios. The panel will then critically assess particular policies and programs to counter sex selection from China to Vietnam, highlighting the significance and positioning of gender in them. An important aspect will be learning from the Korean "miracle", the only country that was able to balance skewed sex ratio at birth. Furthermore, discourses around gender-biased sex selection in India will be analyzed in order to capture dissonances, especially emerging from policy makers. The panel finally examines population policies from a feminist perspective - both in a local and global context. The panel unifies diverse methodological tools (normative, historical, quantitative and qualitative in nature) from various disciplines (demography, anthropology, law, sociology, political science) across different cultures and countries (China, India, South Korea, Vietnam). By doing so, we provide a multifaceted, scalar assessment of population policies, which will be able to unravel the nuances of the issue in a more holistic fashion than individual disciplines can. It will stimulate greater debate, inform policy choices and revitalize the policy terrain on how to effectively counter gender discrimination.
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