In Islamabad, a woman was forced by her husband to drink acid resulting in her death. She had a nine-year-old daughter and also gave birth to a baby a few days ago. The police registered FIR and is waiting for the post-mortem report. It seems that her husband killed her since she was only giving birth to daughters.
It is time to change the mindset of the men in our society. It is the man who is responsible for the gender of a baby. Medically it is proved that if an X-bearing sperm of man fertilizes the egg of a woman, the resulting embryo will have two X chromosomes (XX) and will grow into a baby girl. If a Y-bearing sperm fertilizes the egg, the embryo will have XY chromosomes giving birth to a boy (except in the rare case of testicular feminization). Since man’s sperm carries both male and female chromosomes (Y & X) and woman’s eggs carry only one female chromosome (only X, because her sex chromosomes are XX), the man’s sperm holds the key to a baby’s gender.
Wide awareness of this phenomenon should be spread among the masses through media and newspapers.
FAISAL ANSAR,
Karachi.