The one child policy poses challenges to all sectors of the Chinese economy; the policy does more harm than good to the people of China. Just like any other government policy, there is a need to review it to ensure that it does not paralyze the economy of China in the coming years. Various measures can be put into place to ensure that the harmful effects of the policy are evaded. The policies need to consider the short term and long term effects to avoid recurrence of the same problem in the coming years.
One of the solutions is the introduction of a reproductive freedom, the policy allows for any family that gives birth to a girl child to give birth to another child; the one child policy has seen many women carrying out abortions especially if the child is a girl just to ensure they do not go against the policy. A full reproductive freedom gives people the chance to ensure that there is no age gap within the economy. If people feel that they have the resources to raise more than one child they should not be denied the opportunity to do intonations such as Germany have been forced to reward parents who have more than one child, to ensure that the population is not just made up of the aging. The reproductive freedom policy would ensure that there are children to take care of the aging people. This policy would have a positive impact the economy of china, the children would increase the number of the labor force and replace the old who cannot be able to work. An aging population will always be dependence since it does not have the capacity to work, however with the reproductive freedom policy, there will be sufficient labor force. With a wide variety of family planning methods, whenever parents feel that they have had enough children they will be able to use family planning methods rather than opting for abortions. Reproduction is a choice that can only be regulated and not prohibited, giving birth to a girl should not be an obstacle to having other children as long as the parents can take care of them (Greenhalgh & Susan 214).
The one child policy works at the disadvantage of the girl child. Once a mother realizes that she is going to give birth to a girl, most of them end up carrying out an abortion. The boy child is preferred to the girl child, but this only creates a gender imbalance. Even as they grow up, girls face many challenges and are considered to be a burden in the society. The only way to change this perspective is to introduce the girl child campaign; people need to know that both boys and girls have equal rights and opportunities. The government needs to create awareness among the people that the girl child is not a bad omen; a society without women is a society that can never grow. The only way to eliminate an oppressive culture is by educating the children who will then change the trend. Coming up with education programs in the school that are aimed towards educating the Chinese children of their culture and what needs to be changed will develop a society that treats all genders as equal. The Chinese children need to grow up knowing that no gender is more superior to the other and both girls and boys should be treated equal. This will create a generation that respects all genders and therefore bring about the cultural growth. Women contributes to various key sectors of the economy, denying the girl child her to life only creates a crisis rather than a solution .Discriminating the two only creates a gender gap which cannot promote growth and development in China. The sustainability of China can only be guaranteed there is a flow of labor among the different age groups, the exit of one labor force due to age should not create a crisis. Unless such policies are implemented, China might become a crumbling nation (Evans & Karin 205).
The only way that China can become an economic giant is if it has adequate labor supply, this can be achieved if there are more young people to provide the required labor force. There comes a time when policies have to be reviewed to ensure that they do not hinder the development of a nation. China needs to change the one child policy and change the cultural perspective that people have towards the girl child.
Work Cited
Evans, Karin. The lost daughters of China: abandoned girls, their journey to America and the search for a missing past. New York: J.P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2000. Print.
Greenhalgh, Susan. Just one child: science and policy in Deng's China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Print.
