South Korea has taken down a government website that shows the number of women of childbearing age, between 15 and 49 years, by district and region. The pink-coloured map, which was reportedly part of the government's drive to reverse the country's falling birth rate, went offline just one day after its launch. A notice on the site said it was undergoing corrections to reflect public opinion.
The map, launched by the Ministry of the Interior of South Korea, was taken down following a public protest and criticism of the government that it was trying to shame women for not giving birth. Some felt disappointed with the government for treating the country's low birth rate as an issue only because of women, pointing out that no pictures of men were used on the website.
The site also contained information on average marriage age, birth rates, child benefits from local governments, and other data. On top of the website featured a picture of a woman kissing a little girl.
In the birth map, regions with more number of females between ages 15 and 49 were colored in dark pink while the regions with a lower number of such women were shown in light pink. The site also featured rankings of such regions. Users were supposed to look up women between those ages living in their neighborhood for the past 10 years.
Among the people who got angry at such an initiative by the government was Lee Min-kyung, a 24-year-old feminist writer, who felt angered at how blatantly the government sees women's bodies as the country's reproductive tools, the Guardian reported.
The birth rate in South Korea is one of the lowest among such rich countries. This year, the country also saw growth of vocal feminist movements protesting against misogynist views reflected in government policies and pop culture.