End the Mental Illness Called Female Foeticide- Prime Minister of
India
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme to Resurrect Women
Pride
“Educate a man, you educate one person;
educate a woman, you educate a complete family”- is one of
the saner concepts we have come across in our life time. But why only family,
she can educate and empower the entire country and humanity, feels the Government.
No wonder it has translated into one of the flagship programs of union
Government under the name, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ which if
implemented as envisaged can really make India a modern democracy.
Save Girl Child
But before we think of educating girl
child we need to address a critical issue in this country. That is the
decline in Child Sex Ratio (CSR).As per the Census, 2011 the child sex
ratio (0-6 years) has shown a decline from 927 females per thousand males in
2001 to 919 females per thousand males in 2011. Even developed states like
Maharashtra , Punjab, Haryana, NCT Delhi, Gujarat are far behind the national
average compared to NER states and under developed states like Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, though the overall trend is quite concerning.
Some of the reasons for neglect of girl child and low child sex ratio are son
preference and the belief that it is only the son who can perform the last
rites, that lineage and inheritance runs through the male line, sons will look
after parents in old age, men are the bread winners etc. Exorbitant dowry
demand is another reason for female foeticide/infanticide. Small family
norm coupled with easy availability of sex determination tests adds to the
declining child sex ratio, further facilitated by easy availability of
Pre-conception sex selection facilities inspite of strict rules against such
tests.
Female Foeticide
The practice of aborting female foetus
has become more rampant with the availability of modern diagnostic tools for
sex determination of the unborn. With the social biases favouring the male
child on the presumptions of economic advantages and labelling the girl child
as more of a liability, the sex ratio in the country has been skewed. The
process of elimination continues even after birth in various forms of
discrimination in matters of health, nutritional and educational needs of the
girl child. This shows that women’s disempowerment begins even before birth. On
the contrary, empowerment of women leads to all-round progress and emancipation
from absurd beliefs and unscientific practices in the society.
The Lancet’, a medical journal
published a report pertaining to the prevalence of sex selective abortions in
rich and educated Indian families in 2011. According to the report which is
based on review of data of three rounds of the nationally representative
surveys (National Family Health Survey – 1, 2&3) carried out during the
years 1990 to 2005, it was found that the conditional sex ratio for
second-order births when the firstborn was a girl child, fell from 906 per 1000
boys in 1990 to 836 in 2005. But there was no significant decline in the sex
ratio for second-order births if the firstborn was a boy child, or for
firstborns.
Government Initiatives
The Government is implementing a
comprehensive legislation; the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 for prohibition of sex
selection before or after conception, regulation of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques
and prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female
foeticide.
Government has adopted a multi-pronged
strategy devising schemes, programmes and awareness generation/advocacy
measures to build a positive environment for the girl child through gender
sensitive policies, provisions and legislation.
The measures include the following:-
Intensified effective
implementation of the said Act and amended various provisions of the Rules
relating to sealing, seizure and confiscation of unregistered machines and
punishment against unregistered clinics. Regulation of use of portable
ultrasound equipment only within the registered premises has been notified.
Restriction on medical practitioners to conduct ultrasonography at maximum
of two ultrasound facilities within a district has been placed. Registration
fees have been enhanced. Rules have been amended to provide for advance
intimation in change of employees, place, address or equipment.
The Prime Minister has urged the Chief
Ministers of all States to provide personal leadership to reverse the declining
trend in Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and address the neglect of the girl child
through focus on education and empowerment.
The Ministry of Communication and
Information Technology has been requested to block sex selection advertisements
on websites.
The Government is extending
financial support to the States and UTs for operationalization of
PNDT Cells, capacity building, orientation & sensitization workshops,
Information, Education and Communication campaigns and for strengthening
structures for the implementation of the Act under the National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM).
States have been advised to focus
on Districts/Blocks/Villages with low Child Sex Ratio to ascertain the causes,
plan appropriate behaviour change communication campaigns and effectively
implement provisions of the PC & PNDT Act.
Religious leaders, women achievers etc.
are also being involved in the campaign against skewed child sex ratio and
discrimination of the girl child.
Girls Education
Offering girls basic education is one
sure way of giving them much greater power of enabling them to make genuine
choices over the kinds of lives they wish to lead. This is not a luxury.
The Convention on
the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women establish it as a basic human
right. The fact that women might have the chance of a healthier and happier
life should be reason enough for promoting girls’ education. Moreover,
there are also important benefits for society as a whole. An educated woman has
the skills, information and self-confidence that she needs to be a better
parent, worker and citizen. An educated woman is, for example, likely to marry
at a later age and have fewer children. Cross-country studies show that an
extra year of schooling for girls reduces fertility rates by 5 to 10 per cent.
And the children of an educated mother are more likely to survive. In India,
for example, the infant mortality rate of babies whose mothers have received
primary education is half that of children whose mothers are illiterate. An
educated woman will also be more productive at work -- and better paid. Indeed,
the dividend for educational investment is often higher for women than men.
Studies from a number of countries suggest that an extra year of schooling will
increase a woman's future earnings by about 15 per cent, compared with 11 per
cent for a man.
But how to improve girls' access to
education? Experiences in a number of countries show the importance of:
Parental and community involvement -- Families and communities must be
important partners with schools in developing curriculum and managing
children's education.
Low-cost and flexible timetables -- Basic education should be
free or cost very little.
Schools close to home, with women teachers -- Many parents worry about
girls travelling long distances on their own. Many parents also prefer to have
daughters taught by women.
Relevant curricula -- Learning materials should be relevant to
the girl's background and be in the local language. They should also avoid
reproducing gender stereotypes.
Girl Child in India
Even though discrimination towards
girls is rampant across caste and class, girls belonging to socially and
economically lower categories as well as girls with disabilities face multiple
discrimination on terms of identity. The Right to Education Act, 2009 has
improved enrolment of children aged 6-14 in elementary schools across the
country. The retention rate of girls at primary level has shown a slight
improvement 75.94% in 2011-12 and the transition rate of girls at upper primary
level has improved from 74.15% in 2003-04 to 87.32% in 2010-11, but there are
35 districts that continue to show a high gender gap. Thus, despite overall
encouraging trends, inequities continue in educational provision of girls in
the country.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme
Realizing the urgent need to put these
problems on high priority and focus, the present Government has introduced
the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme for survival,
protection & education of the girl child. It aims to address the issue of
declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) through a mass campaign across the country
targeted at changing societal mindsets & creating awareness about the
criticality of the issue. The scheme aims at making girls independent both
socially as also financially through education. This approach of the Government
can facilitate in generating awareness and improving the efficiency of delivery
of welfare services meant for the women. The Scheme will have focused
intervention & multi-sectored action in 100 districts with low Child Sex
Ratio. Of these 87 districts in 23 States/UTs has Child Sex Ratio below
the National average of 918.
The objectives of this initiative are:
· Prevention
of gender biased sex selective elimination
· Ensuring
survival & protection of the girl child
· Ensuring
education and participation of the girl child
It is a joint initiative of Ministry of
Women and Child Development (WCD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (H
& FW) and Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). The sectoral
interventions under the programme include the following:
Ø Ministry of
WCD: Promote registration of pregnancies in first trimester
in Anganwadi Centres (AWCs); Undertake Training of stakeholders;
Community Mobilization & Sensitization; Involvement of Gender Champions;
Reward & recognition of institutions & frontline workers.
Ø Ministry of
H & FW: Monitor implementation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal
Diagnostic Techniques (PCP&DT)Act, 1994; Increased institutional
deliveries; Registration of births; Strengthening PNDT Cells; Setting up
Monitoring Committees.
Ø Ministry
of HRD: Universal enrolment of girls; Decreased drop-out rate; Girl
Child friendly standards in schools; Strict implementation of Right to
Education (RTE); Construction of Functional Toilets for girls.
BBBP highlights the need for gender
equality enshrined in the Constitution of India and brings out how
neglect of girls and discrimination throughout her life cycle leads to an
unequal status for the girls. It also aims to break myths about roles of men
and women in society so that negative attitudes and behaviors steeped in
patriarchy are changed. It can be a boon not just for the girl children but
also for the whole society.
Moreover, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti
Padao’ yojana comes at a time when the nation is confronted with problems
associated with women’s safety like rape and other forms of assault. The
Government also proposes to spend Rs 150 crore through the Ministry of Home Affairs
on a scheme to extend the security of women in large cities. The Union budget
has also allocated to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Rs 50 crore
for pilot schemes to safeguard the safety of women on public road transport.
The Prime Minister also launched the ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Account’ for
the benefit of the girl child.
Significance of this Government
initiative is very clear when the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi urged all
countrymen in his now famous MAN KI BAAT, on the need to draw inspiration from
families and persons like US President Barack Obama who have only girl
children, to bring up their daughters with pride and give them due respect. “To
save the girl child, to educate the girl child, this is our social duty,
cultural duty, and humanitarian responsibility; we should honour it”, has said
the Prime Minister. Describing the desire to indulge in female foeticide
as a "mental illness" Shri Modi has also warned that
if this discrimination does not end it could cause a "terrible crisis"
soon because of lack of women in the country. Prime Minister also
reminded the medical fraternity that medical profession is for the purpose of
saving lives, and not for killing daughters.
To conclude, gender respect should be
taught at the school level more so from the home level by the parents. Also we
need to address the associated problems in bringing up the girl child, her
marriage expenses and discrimination in the society. If these are addressed
properly there is no issue which will discriminate the girl from the boy in the
society. We need not campaign door to door about the girl child and her safety.
After all we live in a country where a state like Kerala extends the best of
status to its girls.
Education has unrivalled power to
reduce extreme poverty and boost wider development goals. Investing in
education, especially for girls, alleviates extreme poverty through securing
substantial benefits for health and productivity, as well as democratic participation
and women's empowerment. Not only is investing in girls' education a moral
obligation, but it is also essential if the country wants to break free of its
high child and maternal mortality rates and find true prosperity in the
future."
