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Theres No Stopping The Girl Child

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.

September 24th is Girl Child Day! 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.

Consider:

Killing of female foetuses and infants has increased over the past few years. In urban India too. In "prosperous" states too.
A wide gap continues to separate the girl child from her brother. While he goes to school and gets nourishing food and time for play, she is expected to work at home, look after siblings and is often given less to eat. Education is not made a priority for her.
The disregard, malnourishment, and abuse, continue through her life, taking the form of enforced early marriages, repeated child bearing at a young age and denial of property rights in adulthood.
The Indian Constitution provides for equal treatment of all children. At CRY, we believe this is not enough. We are of the opinion that the girl child needs to be positively discriminated in favour of, both within her family and outside. Only this will create a milieu that preserves, cherishes and nurtures her childhood and is conducive to her holistic development.

Some facts

At 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.

Sex Ratio

- 1981-91 census shows 1.37 crore more boys than girls.
2001 census shows there are 42 crore children, with boys outnumbering girls by 1.98 crores.

- The national average is falling:
- In 1991 : 945 girls for every 1000 boys
- In 2001 : 927 for every 1000 boys

- Projections for 2011 show that about 23 million men would be without life partners

Poor little rich girls

Many think that girls are most disadvantaged among the poor than the rich. The India Census 2001 proves it wrong.

The latest figures emphatically prove that
- poverty is not responsible for gender-biased abortions
- the girl child is treated better in rural India as compared to urban India.

The Census 2001 shows that 6 million children reside in slums and constitute 16.4 per cent of the child population.

The child sex ratio* (for the age group of 0 to 6 years) in slum** areas of 26 states is 919 girls compared to 904 girls in "non-slum areas" inhabited by fairly well-off people.
In 13 states and Union Territories, the child sex ratio in slum areas is above 943, which is above the average national figure.
The child sex ratio is above 950 in slum areas in Chennai, Patna, Nagpur and Nashik.
In Rajasthan, the child sex ratio in rural areas is 914 compared to 887 in urban areas.
The child sex ratio in Rajasthan's slum areas is 902 compared to 886 in non-slum areas. Also, the rate of cases of selective abortions is higher in Rajasthan's non-slum areas compared to slum areas.

According to reports, technology, particularly pre-natal sex determination tests, is responsible for lower girl child numbers in urban non-slum areas.

*sex ratio is the number of girls for every 1000 boys

**The "slum data" released by the Census covers 640 cities and towns in 26 states and Union Territories. "Slum enumeration blocks" were formed for the first time for the 2001 Census.

At home:

The Girl child is vulnerable, voiceless because of:
- A patriarchal structure (sons are given preference in property rights)
- Culture and beliefs (females are considered in the second rung)
- Social norms (foeticide, infanticide, malnutrition, child marriage)
- Unequal status in the family (considered a liability, not treated with dignity because she will get married and go away to another home. In-laws will have to be given a dowry.)
- Denied equal opportunities in education, health, recreation and development

Event	Probability (%)	Numbers who will (mill)	Numbers who won't (mill)
Birth	93	10.07	0.76
Survive their 5th Birthday	89	9.01	1.06
Be adequately nourished	49	4.60	4.41
Enroll in primary school	75	6.85	2.16
Complete elementary school	40	4.09	2.76
Complete secondary school	8	0.51	3.57
Survive their 12th birthday	85	7.50	1.51
Not be sexually abused, prostituted	60	5.40	3.60
Not be married before their 18th birthday	40	2.63	4.88
Not be a teenage mother	85	1.12	6.38
Survive childbirth	99	7.43	0.07

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

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