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Save girl child is a notion propagated by the government to protect and educate any girl child born within the boundaries of India. Every year, the government sets aside a day to celebrate the girl child and raise awareness about her position in society. The goal is to improve this situation day-by-day.
A girl child needs to be protected from her family and society.
The family can become the major perpetrator of her life.
The birth of a girl child is frowned upon.
Girls are abused both mentally and physically.
Ancient India was not like modern times.
Women were treated with respect and dignity in ancient times.
Over time men started to control and oppress women.
The government has launched various schemes to safeguard a girl child and her education.
These schemes are showing good results as the year 2022 recorded the highest girl-child-to-boy-child ratio.
We can only hope the situation improves as we continue to put efforts towards it.
Since time immemorial, the girl child has been the target of various atrocities, but it was not always like this. In fact, during ancient times, women were lauded as Rishikas, the girl child was hailed, and their contributions to the family and society were given great honour. Yet, something changed over time and the status of a girl child deteriorated. She was reduced to a mere commodity, and then a burden.
The procedures which were to be used to save the life of a foetus were used to detect the gender and kill a female foetus. Even if the child was allowed to be born, her arrival was greeted with great remorse than her male counterparts. Her life was also made difficult by constant abuse, mental or physical, and the denial of education.
This is really a sad picture for a country which worships goddesses as a part of its culture. Rape, molestation, eve-teasing, foeticide, infanticide, child marriage, and trafficking—you name it and a girl child has gone through it.
In order to protect a girl child from her society and family, the government came up with various schemes like “Beti bachao, Beti padhao,” Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Balika Samriddhi Yojana, etc. The aim of all these schemes is to safeguard the girl child’s present and future.
Although it took decades, I am glad to report that as of 2022, India has 1020 girls over 1000 boys and a remarkable 70.3% literacy rate amongst girl children. This doesn’t mean that the whole landscape has fixed itself, but that it is still just a start, and we can hope for a better future.
‘I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved’—B. R. Ambedkar once said this. It is appalling that as the biggest democracy, we don’t follow even the basic rule of equal rights when it comes down to our female citizens. It is not just the fault of our government, but the society we live in.
Discrimination And Struggle | Discrimination against a girl child starts right at birth. While the birth of a male child is greeted with pomp and show, the arrival of a girl child is met with frowns or infanticide at times. As the girl grows older, she is constantly told about how much of a burden she is to her family, thereby instilling an inferiority complex in her. This child is then inflicted with household chores, the denial of education, child marriage, rape, and trafficking. As if this wasn’t enough, some parents even make sure to deny the right to be born to a girl child.
The struggles of a girl child don’t end here. A large portion of the female community grows up disliking their bodies for showing natural signs of reproduction - breasts and menstruation. While the boys of the society get to roam around shirtless, a girl child lives her entire childhood hating the biology which defines her. The mindset of a girl child is botched up by her family from the time she is born rendering her incapable of rebellion and reasoning.
Ancient India | Such people cite ancient India to justify their inhumane treatment of the female child. What they are unaware of is that ancient India was not even close to the image they have in their head. On the contrary, people celebrated the girl child and held women in high regard for their selfless contributions to the family and society at large. The women were educated and given equal opportunities as their male counterparts. Our scriptures bear great testimony to this culture. Ma Kali is considered superior in power to Lord Shiva and we had Rishikas like Lopa Mudra, Gargi, and Maitreyi. It was only later that the men of the society started oppressing the women for their own benefit, reducing them to mere commodities and baby-producing machines.
Government Schemes | To reduce this drastic effect on the status of a girl child, the government came up with several laws and schemes like the criminalisation of the detection of the sex of a foetus, “Beti bachao, Beti padhao,” Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, and Balika Samriddhi Yojana. All these schemes focus on protecting the girl child's right from birth and ensuring her right to education and well-being as she grows up. It is probably due to these efforts that the latest girl-to-boy child ratio has increased to 1020 girls to 1000 boys. It is the first ever of its kind. A hike in the percentage of girls receiving education has also been marked in the year 2022.
Although a lot has been done and a lot ought to be done, one can only hope for the conditions to keep improving for the girl child as we all come together to protect her, educate her, and most importantly, celebrate her.
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