Girls top adoption preference among foreign couples

Foreign couples adopting Indian children prefer girls to boys, the Women and Child Development Ministry's data has revealed.

According to the data, a total of 105 Indian children were adopted by foreign couples between April and July this year, and of them 72 were girls and 33 boys.

Similarly, of the 422 Indian orphaned children adopted between April 2013 to March 2014 under the inter-country adoption policy, as many as 294 were girls.

As per the data, couples from the United States, who top the list of foreigners adopting Indian children, too prefer girls to boys.

In the period between April and July this year, couples from the US adopted 42 children, of which 33 were girls. The Americans were followed by couples from Spain who adopted 25 children during the same period and all of them were girls.

Couples from Italy took charge of 19 orphaned children during this period and nine of them were girls, the data reveals.

Between April 2013 and March 2014, US couples took charge of as many as 155 -- 119 girls and 36 boys -- of the total 422 adoptees. During the same period, couples from Italy adopted a total of 98 Indian children, of which 61 were girls. And of the 42 children adopted by couple from Spain, 26 girls were and 16 boys.

According to the NGO which facilitates the inter-country adoption process, these figures suggest that foreign couples usually prefer adopting a Indian girl child as they are inspired by the values and traditions that an Indian woman inherits, and want their daughters to have the same qualities.

"The image of an Indian woman in the minds of foreigners is that of a loving, nurturing and caring woman who inherits rich values and traditions. They believe that an Indian girl would take care of their parents in their old age along with developing a strong bonding with the parents.

"These are primary reasons for the foreigners to prefer a girl child over a boy," said a member of the NGO.