Women in Agriculture

Lesson 11 : Measures to Avoid Discrimination Against Girl Child

Scheme to Address Falling Female Sex Ratio

There are certain sections of society (mainly BPL families) where awareness and sensitization of the value of girl child may not be solely sufficient impetus for them to retain their daughter for various reasons unique to that family/community .

In order to allow the female child in such families to be born and not aborted, a special provision should be put in place whereby those who do not want to raise their daughters can place them in specially appointed cradle centers supported by the State. In other words, the government undertake the responsibility of the well being of the child including placing her in loving adoption/foster homes. For this purpose a new scheme of ‘Cradle Baby’ or ‘Palna Scheme’ needs to be formulated for prevention of female feticide and rescuing the missing daughters . This will ensure that unwanted female children need not face extinction in the womb but come into the world as it is their right to be born.