SAVE GIRL CHILD

Amongst sweet smiles, pretty skirts and gentle manners, a girl child is surely a delight. Considered as Laxmi or the Goddess of wealth many families revere a girl child and in the North the girl child is never made to touch the feet of her elders including her parents. A girl child is surely special. A girl child is also a source of a joy as empathy in a girl is very natural. She has maternal rights from her childhood days and protective about her siblings. A constant endeavor needed within our families to preserve the respect of the girl child must be a matter of esteem.

Socio-Economic Issues :-

1. Girl Fetus Killing (Bhrun Hatya) :- Girl fetus killing is a major cause of social problem that needs an immediate solution; more men than women. Twenty first century is going on but this ridiculous problem still sounds. Pregnant women take scans and tests to determine the sex of the fetus. If the child is found to be male, he is allowed to live, but if it is a girl, pregnancy is terminated.

In this problem women play equal role to the men. Women should think that they were also girls one day.

2. Girl Child Labour - The Cheap commodity of India

Every day number of girl children are rescued from the shops and houses working as a servant. They work more than 14 hours a day and are not paid as per norms.

The International Labor Office reports that children work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all laborers.

3. Education - The Right to Learn

“Educate a man, you educate one person, educate a woman, you educate a complete family.”

Reports estimate that more than 50 percent of girls in India fail to enroll in school and those who do are likely to drop out by the age of 12. Lack of education denies the girl child, the knowledge and skills needed to advance their status. Figures also report that there is discrimination even in the field of higher education. At least a 40% of girls are not allowed to pursue higher studies, due to the conservative familial ideologies.

Education enables the child to realize her full potential, to think, question and judge independently; to be a wise decision-maker, develop civic sense and learn to respect, love his fellow human beings and to be a good citizen.

4. Child Marriage :- A report by the UNICEF revealed that 82 percent of girls in Rajasthan are married before they are 18, 15 percent of girls in rural areas across the country are married before 13 and a major 52 percent of girls have their first pregnancy between 15 and 19. 

By the Indian law, it is illegal to allow or facilitate marriage of a boy under 21 and a girl under 18. Amongst all the states in India, it is Rajasthan that tops the list with the average age of a girl at marriage being 16.6 years, closely followed by Bihar (17.2 years) and Madhya Pradesh (17 years).

Sex Ratio :-

India's child sex ratio continues to plummet, indicating that female feticide and infanticide remain rampant. Provisional data released by the census office for 2011 shows that the child sex ratio (0-6 years) has further declined to 914 girls for every 1,000 boys as compared to 927 in 2001.

The divide between the north and south has got even starker with J&K's child sex ratio falling precipitously to 859, making it the third worst state after Haryana and Punjab. In 2001, J&K had a better child sex ratio than the Indian average. With the exception of Himachal Pradesh, no state in the north now has a child sex ratio above 900.

Overall, the last 30 years have been cruel for India's young girls. There are now 48 fewer girls per 1,000 boys than there were in 1981. J&K, Maharashtra and Haryana have had the worst 30-year decline in child sex ratios. 

(source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sense-Of-Censu...)

In India male to female sex ratio -

at birth               under 15               15-64               over 65               total

  1.12                        1.13                          1.06                  0.9                      1.06

(for more countries visit-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_sex_ratio)

NGO's working to save Girl Child :-

1. CRY (Child Rights and You) - Mumbai

2. NANHI KALI - Mumbai

3. DREAM A DREAM - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore

4. POPULATION FIRST - Mumbai

5. CHILD IN NEED INSTITUTE - Kolkata

6. INDIANNGOS.COM

7. INDIA ALLIANCE FOR CHILD RIGHT

8. SMILE FOUNDATION, INDIA - New Delhi, Mumbai

Remedial Measure :-

Through active generation of political will and result-oriented action plans, the government can effectively Help & Support the situation.

Here we list some of the main solutions possible:

1. Provision of free and compulsory education in practice, not only in theory.

2. Effective implementation of the Dowry Prohibition Act and other relevant laws.

3. Grant of equal property rights to girls.

4. A department for women and a commission for women must be established at central and state levels.

5. Women’s organizations, media houses and magazines should offer forums for networking.

6. Extensive support should be available to NGOs and such organizations.