UN says 140 million females `missing' due to son preference

More than 140 million females are considered “missing” today because of a preference for sons over daughters and extreme neglect of young girls leading to their death, the U.N. Population Fund said in its annual report released Tuesday. The agency, known as UNFPA, also said 1 in 5 marriages that take place today is to an underage girl, and an estimated 4.1 million girls are at risk this year of being subjected to female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, or FGM, which has been condemned by the United Nations. Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA's executive director, said: “Harmful practices against girls cause profound and lasting trauma, robbing them of their right to reach their full potential.”