Son please

One of the press owners in the area where I work got a son today. He’s a very good friend of mine and I’ve known him for the last ten years, at least. He already has two charming daughters but it was not enough. He was pretty desperate for a heir for a while now and more so his wife. And this is the part that is newsworthy and something which I have considerable difficulty understanding.
So often in India, it is the women themselves who are their own worst enemies. Now both these people are well educated and come from decent family backgrounds. Yet their outlook in leading a life without a male heir is more appropriate for the dark ages when a male child was more suited for the rigors of daily life. But why these days? India is one of those rare countries where people doing the same job get the same salary irrespective of being men or women. This is true both in private as well as government sectors. So why this ancient and misplaced attraction towards a male offspring? We no longer plow the fields and there is hardly any manual labor required for an educated person in daily life.
The problem till recently, and it was same throughout the world, was that girls were not permitted to study too much and were encouraged instead to concentrate more on domestic responsibilities. With technology came their liberation. They can just as easily use a pen as men or push the keys on a computer or drive or perform any of the tasks required in earning a livelihood.
I did discuss most of these issues with him many times and while he seemed to agree with me in principle, I don’t think he ever agreed in his heart. Both he and his wife wanted a son and that was that. Whether it meant three or six children was immaterial. He was clear on this point. Oh well, he is ecstatic today. While I am very happy for him, I disagree with the principle of the thing.
Now that Indian women have finally come out on their own, they are prevailing against their male counterparts in almost every field. Every day the newspapers carry results from various competitive exams throughout India and without exception, the girls seem to be doing better than boys. I don’t think they are the weaker sex anymore, fairer, certainly, but not weaker.
I read an analysis recently that in India, originally, the society was purely matriarchal and had been for thousands of years till fairly recently. I think they really had something there. Mythologically, of course, Indians have always been partial to women. Our goddesses have always been known to be stronger and more fair than gods. While the gods were always indiscriminate in granting boons and powers, the goddesses were usually the ones who fixed things back. The partial attitude towards men came recently with the influx of other cultures. And since men are generally stronger physically, the trend took root. But if you think about it, an ox or an elephant is also much stronger than us physically, yet throughout India both species are used just as cheap labor. There has been no rebellion from them (the stronger animals) known to date.
As for me, I don’t really believe one way or the other. I think it should be on an individual basis. There is no general rule, both boys as well as girls can be equally proficient or incompetent in any aspect of life and it has little to do with gender.