Where have all the young girls gone?

From the 2nd verse, as I learned it from Peter, Paul & Mary:

Where have all the young girls gone,
Long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone,
Long time ago...?

Unlike the folk song, the little girls in India haven't "gone for husbands, everyone"--it's too expensive to get them husbands. 2nd & 3rd daughters were sacrificed so that their families could "try again" for a boy this time.

What must these mothers feel like, how degraded must they feel about themselves as women if they are willing to sacrifice their daughters merely because they are daughters -- and thus liabilities? I cannot imagine.