Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann explore Pakistani parents' preference for boys. One reason sex-selective abortion is so prevelant:
A recent United Nations report on sex selection cites the Population Council's research that only 20 percent of females in Pakistan enter the labor force. This means that most women in Pakistan can't support their parents financially after they retire. Because the government offers little or no assistance for retirees, someone has to take care of Pakistan's elderly, and that responsibility typically falls on sons. For parents here, having a son often means having a retirement plan, while having a daughter can mean losing your savings to the dowry.
The Dish 