TIRANA, Dec. 13 – Illegal sex-selective abortions performed in the second trimester of pregnancy claim the lives of around 1,000 baby girls a year in Albania and the patriarchal mentality favoring boys over girls is blamed for that, a study conducted by a local association has found.
The “Together for Life” association estimates some 33,000 sex-selective abortions have been carried out in the country since the early 1990s when abortion was still banned, at an average of more than 1,000 annually.
Albania has around 110 boys for each 100 girls, at a rate that experts say makes it the top European country for sex-selective abortions.
“These kind of abortions are mainly carried out in the second trimester of pregnancy when the child’s sex is better noticed. The decision is of course family-made,” says doctor Rubena Moisiu of the “Koà§o Gliozheni” maternity hospital in Tirana as quoted by local media.
Sex selective abortions in the country are mainly carried out in private medical clinics, often illegally, but also in state-run maternity hospitals through fake medical reports with abortions allegedly performed to save mothers’ health.
Doctors say that therapeutic abortions induced following diagnosis of medical necessity to avoid the risk of substantial harm to the mother are often abusively carried out through fake medical reports masking what are in fact sex-selective abortions.
“We went for a medical check-up and were told that it was a girl and my husband and I decided to abort her because it would be our fourth daughter. I regret the decision, because I am so proud of my daughters,” a mother is quoted as saying by local Top Channel TV on condition of anonymity.
Abortion in Albania was legalized in 1995 after the fall of the communist government. It is now available on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and can be carried out later only in case a mother’s health is seriously endangered.
Global gender gap reports show Albania’s sex ratio at birth is at a female to male ratio of 0.93, indicating the presence of sex-selective abortions, a phenomenon that is still present in the rather patriarchal Albanian society.
Traditionally Albanian families have favored boys over girls for two main reasons, the inheritance of the family name and the prospect of boys growing up to become breadwinners.
The study carried out by the “Together for Life” association shows almost half of the surveyed women admit to knowing somebody who has carried out a sex-selective abortion.
“Sex selective abortions are a widespread practice in Albania, but there is no accurate data. According to the Council of Europe, there are 100 girls for every 112 boys, a figure that is quite disproportionate compared to the ratio of natural demographic growth. According to the US Census Bureau, there were 15,621 sex-selective abortions in Albania from 2000 to 2014, at an annual average of 1,041 abortions a year and a daily average of 2.9 abortions at a ratio of 112 boys per 100 girls,” says doctor Griselda Toci as quoted by local “Shendet Plus” newspaper focused on health issues.
“In the Albanian society, especially in areas where traditional patriarchal mentality dominates, girls are considered to be born to marry and become housewives and regarded as an external part of the household that do not guarantee continuity. The greater tendency for sex-selective is with northern Albanian women, but there are also women from all over Albania who for different reasons perform sex-selective abortions,” she adds.
Civil society activists have appealed for legal changes tightening penalties against illegal abortions and say the sex of the fetus has to be officially reported for every abortion carried out in the country in order to have a clearer picture of selective abortions.
