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."
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