Girl, interrupted

I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,

And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.

- Song of an African Woman

When US citizen Sunita Williams literally reached for the stars, Indians back home were ecstatic - For Sunita is of Indian origin! Like her, many Indian women are reaching heights only dreamt of earlier.

Take, for instance, civil rights activists like Aruna Roy and Medha Patkar, writers like Mahashweta Devi or Arundhati Roy. Barkha Dutt, has become an idol for several journalists and Naina Lal Kidwai, vice chairperson and managing director of HSBC Securities and Capital markets, featured in Fortune magazine's list of the 50 most powerful women in international business. 

It is heartening to know that the 21st century has provided the no-stops mode for the educated, middle class Indian girl to mature into a woman who builds her own dreams and excels in various fields. Yet, there is a vast majority, who by accident of being born underprivileged has been left out in the cold. For them there are many ifs and buts and hurdles to be crossed.

The first is...

...birth
The probability that she is not allowed to be born is 7%. If her parents were resident of Fatehgarh Sahib, a small town in Punjab, her chances of being victim of foeticide would be one in four cases (24%).

And this occurs despite the act of foeticide being prohibited under the PCPNDT Act. The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act was enacted to curb the malpractice of identifying and terminating the foetus.

"The stated purpose of the legislation is to prohibit the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for the determination of the sex of a foetus, which results in 'female foeticide'. This is described as 'discriminatory against the female sex' and 'affecting the dignity and status of women.' The PCPNDT Act regulates all pre-natal diagnostic techniques and prohibits sex selection per se.

If she is allowed to be born, will she survive?

If she were lucky enough to be born, her probability of dying before the first birthday is 7.1%. Before the fifth birthday is 10.5%. So she has a one in 10 chances of not being around for her 5th birthday.

If she survives...

• There is one in two chances (48.9%) that she is underweight,
• There is 15% probability she is wasted (underweight compared to her height).
• And there is 4.8% probability that she is severely anaemic.

Will she develop?

• After all this, if she survives, she has one in four chances (24%) for not being enrolled in even primary school. She is doomed to an illiterate world.
• If she is lucky enough to be enrolled, there is a 60% probability that she may not reach the secondary stage of schooling.

And her continuous development is subject to certain alarming trends

• Trends on reported rape cases indicate that there is now 20% greater probability of her being physically abused now than the last year.
• There is 33% rise in reported cases of child marriages. She has now greater probability of getting married before the legal age of 18 years now than five years ago.
• There is 27% greater probability of maternal mortality now, as compared to last decade.

The reasons for girl children and women being subjugated and discriminated thus, are many, with patriarchal values that consider the girl child a liability at the core of the issue.

Economic hardships faced by families are reasons for undernourishment, being forced into labour, lack of education among children etc. with girls facing the brunt of it, because of deliberate choices made by their parents, coated with social customs and traditions.

e.g. A girl's nutritional intake is inferior in quality and quantity; boys have access to more nutritious food within a family.

Interestingly, girls outperform boys in school-leaving exams. Yet more girls leave school.

Political factors only compound the problem. There is:

Lack of political will to implement existing laws, policy and programmes because the status of the girl child is not an election issue and children in general are not a voting population.

• Little accountability taken by the State to arrest increasing abuse
• No system to sensitise caregivers  to discourage discrimination
• No system to ensure their (care givers') commitment to effectively implement policies and practices that discourage gender discrimination

What can be done?

And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.

• Work towards education that helps to create attitudinal shifts that emphasise the rights of a girl child
• Ensure State accountability to implement various schemes, policies, laws, constitutional guarantees and international commitments
• Institutionalise gender sensitive processes within various systems such as law and programmes
• Encourage community ownership in preventing violations faced by girls
• Healthy Budget allocation for the girl child at state and central level 
• Break myths and stereotypes around gender
• Sign the charter to ensure basic rights to children, including girls - without discrimination

Girls must be given the same opportunities & protection as boys, and must be treated on par. A girl's childhood can and must be preserved, cherished, nurtured and protected. Because she has the right. The right to survive, develop, be protected and participate in decisions that impact her life. That will impact future generations to come.

If you believe as we do that all children, especially girls, must be restored their rights then join us, be a part of the peoples movement for change, for Child Rights.  Write in to us webinfo@crymail.org to know more.

Sources: SUB GROUP REPORT, Girl Child in the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Census 2001, and other government data