Villagers Kill Male Babies to Prevent War [dri]

A shocking report out of Papua New Guinea claims that for ten years, the women of two villages have systematically killed all male babies in order to prevent them from growing up to become warriors and engaging in war.

"Babies grow into men and men turn into warriors,' said Rona Luke, a village wife ... It's because of the terrible fights that have brought death and destruction to our villages for the past 20 years that all the womenfolk have agreed to have all new-born male babies killed,' said Mrs Luke.

A resident of Agibu village, Mrs Luke said she did not know how many male babies were killed by being smothered, but it had happened to all males over a 10 year period - and she suggested it was still happening.

'The women have really being forced into it as it's the only means available to them as women to bring an end to tribal fights.'

The report sympathetically portrays these women as desperate hut wives who, faced with tribal extinction, are forced to take extreme measures in order to survive. One wonders how sympathetic the writers of this story would be if the men of the tribe killed all of the female babies to prevent them from growing up and committing male infanticide.

HT to the always interesting neatorama

posted by xgenghisx at 08:47 AM

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