The status of the girl child is the key to achieving women’s equality and dignity which is, in many ways, a litmus test of the maturity of a society. Girls are to be the future mothers besides future policy makers and leaders. Our culture attaches much importance to women; therefore, India has been symbolized as “MOTHER INDIA”. Jawaharlal Nehru once said” To awaken the people it is the women who must be awakened.”
In some areas of the world, men outnumber women by 5 in every 100. The reasons for this discrepancy include harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference……….early marriage……violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other practices related to health and well-being.
In this connection, some vital statics cited by the United Nations may also be added
· By age 18, girls have received an average of 4-4 yrs less education than boys.
· Of the more than 110 million children not in school, approximately 60 percent are girls
· Pregnancies and childbirth related health problems take the lives of nearly 1, 46,000 teenage girls every year.
· At least one in three girls and women world- wide has been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
· An estimated 450 million adult women in developing countries are stunted, a direct result of malnutrition in early life
Indian society is still largely male dominated, and women are often looked down upon. According to the Demographic Health Survey and the World Fertility Survey parents not only in India but also in South Asian countries and North Africa strongly prefer sons to daughters. Besides, poor parents of a daughter feel humiliated due to dowry demands when her marriage is to be settled. Practice of dowry is very disgusting. It is said that an IAS officer’s dowry price is Rs 1crore and that of an engineer or doctor is Rs25-50 lakhs. Is this not disgusting, this practice of treating women as cattle and of actually paying the purchaser.
In Bangladesh about 60% of boys seek free treatment of diarrhea centers and parents buy and seek medical help three times more than often for boys than for girls. In many communities and in rural areas, an adolescent girl is married off by her parents around puberty. Early pregnancy, in turn, undermines her health, physical development and the health of the new born babies. The girl is treated as the transit passenger on her way to martial household and investing in her survival, safety and education is considered non-productive.
In order to help girl children survive and reach their full potential, the Beijing Platform for Action recommended that governments, agencies and private sector to:
· Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl-child;
· Promote and protect the right of girl-child and increase awareness of her needs and potential;
· Eliminate the economic exploitation of a girl labor and protect girls at work;
· Eradicate violence against girl child;
All forms of discrimination against the girl child and violation of her rights must be eliminated by undertaking strong measures both preventive and punitive within and outside the family. These would relate specifically to strict enforcement of laws against parental sex forticide, female infanticide, child abuse and child prostitution etc.
In some areas of the world, men outnumber women by 5 in every 100. The reasons for this discrepancy include harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference……….early marriage……violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other practices related to health and well-being.
In this connection, some vital statics cited by the United Nations may also be added
· By age 18, girls have received an average of 4-4 yrs less education than boys.
· Of the more than 110 million children not in school, approximately 60 percent are girls
· Pregnancies and childbirth related health problems take the lives of nearly 1, 46,000 teenage girls every year.
· At least one in three girls and women world- wide has been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
· An estimated 450 million adult women in developing countries are stunted, a direct result of malnutrition in early life
Indian society is still largely male dominated, and women are often looked down upon. According to the Demographic Health Survey and the World Fertility Survey parents not only in India but also in South Asian countries and North Africa strongly prefer sons to daughters. Besides, poor parents of a daughter feel humiliated due to dowry demands when her marriage is to be settled. Practice of dowry is very disgusting. It is said that an IAS officer’s dowry price is Rs 1crore and that of an engineer or doctor is Rs25-50 lakhs. Is this not disgusting, this practice of treating women as cattle and of actually paying the purchaser.
In Bangladesh about 60% of boys seek free treatment of diarrhea centers and parents buy and seek medical help three times more than often for boys than for girls. In many communities and in rural areas, an adolescent girl is married off by her parents around puberty. Early pregnancy, in turn, undermines her health, physical development and the health of the new born babies. The girl is treated as the transit passenger on her way to martial household and investing in her survival, safety and education is considered non-productive.
In order to help girl children survive and reach their full potential, the Beijing Platform for Action recommended that governments, agencies and private sector to:
· Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl-child;
· Promote and protect the right of girl-child and increase awareness of her needs and potential;
· Eliminate the economic exploitation of a girl labor and protect girls at work;
· Eradicate violence against girl child;
All forms of discrimination against the girl child and violation of her rights must be eliminated by undertaking strong measures both preventive and punitive within and outside the family. These would relate specifically to strict enforcement of laws against parental sex forticide, female infanticide, child abuse and child prostitution etc.