Giving girl-child her due is societal responsibility

When the girl child gets educated the nation moves ahead, hence security and education of the girl child is necessary. Keeping this need in mind our Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced launch of Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme on January 22, 2015. The principal aim of this scheme is to end sex determination and sex selection in our society, ending the discrimination against the girl child and ensuring education and dignity in their lives.

The state of Madhya Pradesh has put maximum efforts to protect, nurture, provide welfare and a brighter future to the girl child. Apart from the ‘Save the girl child – Educate the girl child’ Scheme, the state government is implementing and running Laadli Laxmi Yojana, Beti Bachao Abhiyaan, Lado Abhiyaan, Swaagatam Laxmi Yojana etc., for the welfare and benefit of the girl child in the state and all the above mentioned schemes together are helping to achieve the objectives of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.

It is a fact that no campaign can be succsessfully completed with government’s efforts alone. There is a need to build a positive peoples’ campaign to successfully achieve the set objectives of the stipulated scheme. Every stratum of the population has some thing or the other to contribute towards the success of this scheme, particularly, the educated womenfolk, the family head or the leader, the old and senior persons in the family, teachers, doctors and personnel of the legal community, almost all the different sections of the society can contribute to the success of the scheme by putting effective and whole-hearted devotion in implementation of the scheme.

Even the common man can contribute in the successful implementation of this scheme either directly or indirectly in so many ways. For instance, this can be done by observing festivities whenever a girl child is born in the family or in the locality. She/he can try to end all kinds of discrimination between female and male children in the realm of their education, health care, nutrition, upbringing and care within the family. An atmosphere can be created of feeling proud of the girl child and opposing the state of mind where one considers the girl child as ‘Paraya Dhan’ or the one who is a burden for the parents. People should try to openly speak on this topic wherever there is an occasion.

Another important reformative practice would be oppposing the regressive social customs of child marriage and dowry. Making sure that every single girl child is enrolled in school and gets the opportunity to complete her education is also as important. Sex determination of foetus or sex selection is a terrible practice against the girl child and every citizen should try to prevent it in the family. We can act as responsible citizens by reporting any such case of sex selection or sex determination of the foetus to the District Collecter or the competent authority immediately.

We can also work tirelessly for building a secure, dignified and an atmosphere that is free from any kind of violance against the girls and the women. We must try to end discrimination of any kind against the girl child and women at every level and work to inculcate positive thinking in society towards birth of a girl child. Working to improve the standard of living of girl child and improving the sex ratio is a must. By ensuring implementation of The Protection of Childeren from Sexual Offence Act, 2012, we can build a secure environment for the girl child.

In this way, you, me and ordinary women and men can play an important role to help the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme to become a great succsses by pooling all our efforts and creating a society ensuring the girl child’s life, security and education. (Writer is a faculty at Centre for PG Studies and Distance Education, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad)

Dr Mohsin Uddin