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There is urgent need to embark on a massive nationwide sensitization and advocacy campaign with specific focus on the importance of the girl child to reinforce the view that she is an asset and not a burden. The campaign would need to be multi pronged involving the services of multi media as well other community and peer advocacy groups (such as spiritual leaders, parliamentarians) specifically designed for different sections of society.
The campaign design would focus primarily on the positive aspects of girl child and removemisconceptions and myths that affect her worth and self esteem. Many traditional concepts are prevalent which perceives that a girl is ‘paraya dhan’ and she is not a permanent member of her birth family; that by giving her a share in the family property/ assets , these assets will move away from the family after her marriage; that she will cost the family a great deal of money in terms of dowry; that only sons can carry the legacy of the family and the daughter may not take care of her parents after her marriage nor she can perform last rites for her parents etc.
All these perceptions as well as societal practices need to be changed through sensitization and advocacy. Widespread dissemination of information on legislations or laws which provide equal share and opportunities to girls in property/ assets or employment, laws prohibiting dowry and child marriage etc need to be conducted. Also, it is essential to show positive and vibrant images of girls who are professionally and economically accomplished so that society realizes that with proper education and other support facilities ,a daughter can be as empowered as a son and as such is equally capable of taking care of her parents. She can even perform their last rites as spiritual texts do not deny these rights to her.
While reinforcing these positive images of girls, the society will also need to be educated on the negative effects of a falling sex ratio , especially that the number of progeny born including males will be greatly reduced on account of fewer women to bear them; even the male children who will be born will be of much weaker constitution on account of frail health and frequent child bearing history of the women; polyandry will become common ( as is already happening in States like Haryana) which will lead to a number of genetic and other related problems of physical and mental disabilities etc.
Nation wide awareness and sensitization campaign against female feticide
- The discriminatory treatment meted to the girl child is largely an outcome of the traditional perspectives of society towards the girl child .
- A unique feature of the problem of female feticide is that it is not restricted to any single social or economic group or groups.
- There are also large sections of poor and BPL families who want to get rid of their daughter as she is a burden for them.
If immediate action is nottaken on a national scale to change this mind set, the girl child is on her way to utter deprivation, destitution and even extinction. In other words the girl child is heading towards becoming an endangered species.
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Participants