WUNRN
Women's Feature Service
INDIA - NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION
STUDIES SUPPORT FOR THE GIRL CHILD
By Syeda Hameed - Member, Planning Commission, Government of India
Kashmir (Women’s
Feature Service) - We were in
As we visited
different areas in the state, we stopped at a village in Budgam district to
speak to a group of young ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) about what
can be done to reverse this trend. These bright village girls, dressed in their
uniforms, with blue ‘dupattas’ (long stole) covering their heads, spoke in one
voice: ‘Honour the girl child from the moment she is born.’
This, of course, is
easier said than done, given that honour is hardly in evidence in most families
when daughters are born. In May 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
entrusted the Planning Commission with two tasks related to children. The first
was to restructure the country’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS);
the second was to devise policies to allow the girl child – once she is born –
to live.
The second task was
related directly to the concern of the declining child sex ratio. The girl
child, after she is born, becomes a victim of gross nutritional and health
neglect. Consequently, more female children than male children succumb to
childhood illness and this impacts the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) directly. There
are two measures here we need to take note of: Sex ratio at birth pertains to
the number of girls born per 1000 male children; while CSR relates to the
number of girl children per thousand males between the ages of 0-6 years. It is
the latter figure that the latest census has revealed. No figures have been
released so far on the sex ratio at birth.
The Planning
Commission began its work on the issue by convening a multi-sectoral meeting in
The ground was thus
prepared for action in the field. For me, it seemed logical to begin with
After the
Since 2002,
One is conscious, of
course, that punishing this crime is only going to get more difficult with each
passing day. Today, one can send a blood sample to clinics abroad with the help
of the Internet and a credit card – no need for ultrasound machines! On the
net, I found a site that advertised a special kit for $25. A drop of blood from
the expectant mothers can reveal foetal gender after seven weeks of pregnancy.
The kit guarantees 95 per cent accuracy, or a complete refund of the money
spent. The advertisement had a toll free
We also need to make
sure that, once a girl is born, there are ways to ensure that she receives both
care and love from the moment of her birth. It is in this respect that
important suggestions to the Planning Commission came from experts and medical
practitioners. They pertained to the state providing incentives to mothers as well
as frontline care givers like ASHAs, anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse
midwives. Panchayats could adopt girl children and celebrate their birth and
birthdays in the same manner as they would that of male children. Messages
welcoming the girl child could be put out through the local media – the
community radio, TV channels, local cultural performances or street theatre.
And given our love for Bollywood, perhaps top stars could be asked to “adopt”
the girls and celebrate their lives before the whole world.
There is powerful
symbolism in the fact that three women – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee
and Tawakkul Karman – jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. If they had
not been allowed to be born, if they had not been nurtured into productive
adulthood, imagine what the world community would have lost.
In 2000 I wrote my
report, ‘Voice of the Voiceless: Status of Muslim Women in
Today, I want that
song to end. Instead we need a song that celebrates our daughters, even as
convergent action taken across the public and private spheres, within
governments and within civil society, ensures that not only are our girl children
allowed to be born, but go on to lead productive and self-fulfilling lives.