10 Girl Child in Society

Dr. Kamalaveni

Introduction

Discrimination against girls in India persist from past till present. Even today, there are several sections of Indian society, where a girl child is considered as a liability . Though several privileges are given to the boys, often girls are restricted to confine themselves in the house they are given very little opportunities to learn and grow in life. It is disheartening, to note that cases of female infanticides are still reported in many parts of India resulting in decline of sex ratio. As per the figures of 2011 census, there are just 918 girls in India for 1000 boys. The 2011 census shows the gender disparity depending on the location. For instance the Northern states like Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh seems to be more biased than the Southern states. It is revealed by sharpest decline for the age group of zero to six years in the Northern States particularly in Haryana (834 per 1000 females) and Punjab (846 per 1000 females). These figures point out that the use of new technology contributes to the gender composition. In addition the availability of and access to new technologies endow with new ways for parent to achieve such goals of sex determination before birth. So it’s gloomy to find that, India is one of the few countries where sex selective, gender bias exists till today. The blitz of feminism has not allowed Indian women to revolt against the patriarchal society. For centuries together women have played their roles of being the nurturer in the families without even a thank you note at the end of their lives. When women have been given freedom they have changed the world and made a better place to live in and demonstrated their identity. Let me give overview about global status of girl child according to the data in UN Women.

Global Status of girl child

The girl child faces discrimination even before her birth. Her low status is reflected in the denial of fundamental needs and rights. The societal attitudes and practices for son preference, early marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, incest, sexual exploitation, discrimination, malnutrition and less access to education substantiate that girls child is considered second sex in the society. Therefore in both developed and developing, it is identifiedthat the status of girls is significantly worse than that of boys. So the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, identified the persistent discrimination against the girl child and the violation of her rights as one of the 12 critical areas of concern which required urgent attention by governments and the international community. During its forty-second session in 1998, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women recommended further action to protect and empower the girl child. In the conclusions of the session, it was agreed to take measures to prevent and eradicate the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography, as well as actions to enable girls, including pregnant girls and teenage mothers, to continue their education.

Education status of the girl Child

According to UN website the Overall, girls’ school attendance still lags severely behind that of boys. One of the major reasons why so many girls do not attend school is because of their workload, both within and outside the household. Girl children are often kept at home to help the family for the reason that the social and economic value of educating girls is not recognized. Without access to education, girls are denied the knowledge and skills needed to advance their status. By educating girls, societies stand to expand economically. In addition, educated mothers usually have smaller families, with healthier and better-educated children.

The UN women reveal that in recent years, many governments have reported action taken to create a positive environment for girls so that they, as citizens, can reach their fullest potential.

• Nigeria has imparted legislation to prohibit the withdrawal of girls from school in order to ensure that they can continue and complete their education.
• Zambia has begun to provide scholarships to girls.
• Countries like Austria, Burkina Faso, Dominica, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Portugal and Zambia has inculcated the affirmative action programmes to encourage female students to take up science and technology and other non-traditional subjects have been undertaken.
• Bhutan, the Czech Republic, India, Myanmar, Nigeria, Portugal, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda, among others, have provided opportunities for vocational and professional training for girls.

Health status of the girl Child

During the time of scarcity in food resources, girls and their mothers are often last to be fed which leads to a diet low in calories and protein. An estimated 450 million adult women in developing countries are stunted as a result of childhood protein-energy malnutrition. Iodine and iron deficiencies also have significant consequences for pregnant women and their offspring. There has been an alarming increase in the number of girls infected with the HIV virus. Adolescent girls are at high risk of contracting HIV because of their low social status which often pressures them into situations where they are forced to have unprotected sexual intercourse. There is an increased awareness of the need to provide information, guidance and services to adolescent girls with regard to sexually transmitted diseases, as well as reproductive and sexual health.

• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has supported the development of a programme that focuses on adolescent reproductive health and reaching youth in rural populations through mobile clinics and theatre groups in Nicaragua.
• Education programmes on sex and reproductive health have been developed in the Czech Republic, Dominica, Indonesia, Latvia and the Russian Federation.
• Programmes to educate young people about HIV/AIDS have been established in the Czech Republic, Grenada, Indonesia and Swaziland.
• Information campaigns and workshops to prevent teenage pregnancy have been launched in the Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
• Georgia, India, Mexico and Spain have undertaken advocacy efforts on health and nutrition aimed at girls and young women.

Violence against Girls

Violence against girls as well as women remains a constant problem that takes many forms, including sexual exploitation and abuse, rape, incest, prostitution, child pornography, trafficking, and harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation. Statistics reveal the urgent need for action. According to the United Nations Population Fund, it is estimated that between 85 and 114 million women and girls, most of them living in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, have undergone female genital mutilation. Trafficking in women and children, most often for commercial sexual exploitation, is estimated to generate up to $8 billion each year according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In view of the fact that the Beijing Conference has emphasized on sexual and reproductive health, there are few examples of national action to eliminate violence against the girl child. They are, the countries like

• Tanzania is one of ten countries where female genital mutilation is practiced widely that have enacted laws to criminalize the practice. Penalties include fines and imprisonment.
• Another example is Canada, one of several states with immigrant or refugee populations that practice female genital mutilation, has enacted legislation to prohibit it.
• The Philippines has established a 24-hour hotline to provide social services to children who are victims of child abuse.
• The countries like Italy, Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, the Philippines and Sweden has enacted Laws against the production of child pornography, as well as the criminalization of perpetrators.
• In countries like Dominica, Jamaica, Japan and Mexico Public advocacy campaigns for the elimination of violence against women and children have been organized.

Significance of Equal Rights for Girls

As I was talking about the various status of girl child in global view, let us see why it is import to give equal rights to girl child. Yes Girls are often treated as inferior to boys within the home and by the society-at-large. They are socialized to put themselves last, which in turn undermines their self-esteem and their ability to reach their full potential as human beings, which can be considered a threat to the development of the society. It is therefore important to understand that without women’s participation in public sphere, the development of a country would stagnate. When a girl is prevented from going to school and too exhausted to pay attention in class because of her workload at home, she is being denied her right to education. The discrimination is noticeable, when a girl carries the bulk of responsibility for the housework while her brother studies, plays or attends to his interests and hobbies. A number of initiatives have been developed to promote girls’ rights. For instance

• “Meena”, a communication initiative coordinated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), developed in cooperation with Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, uses a cartoon character called Meena as a role model for girls. The series provokes discussion on gender discrimination in childhood and touches on such issues as unfair treatment of girls in the family, and their lesser access to health and education services.
• The countries like Albania, China, Cuba, Ghana, Italy, Moldova and Viet Nam have reported on new legislative initiatives and laws to protect the rights of the girl child.
• Grenada, Italy, Nigeria and Singapore have established institutional mechanisms to promote the rights of children, including the girl child.
• Public advocacy campaigns to promote girls’ rights have been organized in India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda
• Finland, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines and Viet Nam have taken legal measures to prevent the exploitation of child labour.
• Countries like Botswana, Greece, Mexico, Oman and Turkey have established programmes aimed at developing socialization skills among boys and girls, as well as respect for women and their equal human rights.

Know let me trace the Indian scenario for the girl child

Indian Scenario of the Girl Child

Women are not born, but made says Simone de Beauvoir. India exemplifies this statement. Indian scenario of girl child also portrays the prejudiced attitude, though India has seen an increased percentage of literacy among women. However the practices of female infanticide, poor health conditions and lack of education still continue to prevail. The strong patriarchal ideology that consider the home being a woman’s ‘real domain’ and marriage being her ultimate destiny still persist. The matrimonial advertisements, demanding girls of the same caste, with fair skin and slim figure are indicators of the slow changing social traditions. If one looks at the status of women then and now, one has to look at two sides of the coin; one side which shows potential, and one side which is desolate.

When India got its independence, the participation of women nationalists was widely acknowledged. When the Indian Constitution was formulated, it granted equal rights to women, considering them legal citizens of the country and as an equal to men in terms of freedom and opportunity. The sex ratio of women at this time was slightly better than what it is today, standing at 945 females per 1000 males. Yet the condition of women shows a different reality. However from then women were relegated to the household, and made to submit to the male-dominated patriarchal society. Indian women, who fought as equals with men in the nationalist struggle, were not given that free public space anymore. They became homemakers, and were mainly intended to build a strong home to hold up their men who were to build the newly independent country. Women were condensed to being second class citizens. The national female literacy rate was alarmingly lower to 8.6%. Insoluble social and cultural barriers to education of women and access to organized schooling was noticed.

Very few were allowed into the public space, where women were expected to manage on her own, while maintaining her domestic role as a homemaker. Though Sharada Act was passed in 1929 to raise age at marriage of girls to 18 and boys to 21, child marriage was still prevalent in independent India. Rambling inequalities persisted in their access to education, health care, physical and financial resources and opportunities in political, social and cultural spheres. It was almost unthinkable for women to have a choice in matters of marriage, career or life. Rather she had no voice at all. The practice of dowry was as common throughout India.

When men were better educated than girls, the demands for dowry were even more. The Dowry Prohibition Act was finally passed in 1961, to protect women and promising severe punishment, but the conviction rate of crime against women was very low in India. Because of such inhuman practices which were normalized by the society, the birth of the girl child was considered inauspicious. In villages as well as cities, the girl child was killed either before birth or after it. Even till date, the practice continues. The United Nations Children’s Fund, estimated that up to 50 million girls and women are ‘missing’ from Indian population because of termination of the female foetus or high mortality of the girl child due to lack of proper care.

Though a number of constitutional amendments were made for women’s social, economic and political benefits, yet they were never effective to bring a radical change in the situation. Women had only the role of a ‘good wife’ to play, and if a woman ventured out to work, she was seen as a bad woman, going against societal norms. Women were expected to cook food and eat only after the men, with whatever insufficient amount of food is left. This led to rampant malnutrition among women, and an extremely poor health status. Around 500 women were reported to die every day due to pregnancy related problems due to malnutrition, and getting married before 18. It was only by the 1960s, that a few educated women began to see themselves increasingly change from a mere guardian of home to a genuine participant in the discourse of life. The country saw the first undercurrent of female dissatisfaction with the system.

After sixty years of independence, there are rampant changes in women’s life style. However at some areas like dowry, crimes like rape, sexual harassment at office or public places, and molestation, eve-teasing, women are still exploited, which is the shameful side of our country. Yet one can’t deny that the situation has improved since the earlier times. According to ministry of women and child development, Women, who now represent 48.2% of the population, are getting access to education, and then employment. From 5.4 million girls enrolled at the primary level in 1950-51 to 61.1 million girls in 2004-05. At the upper primary level, the enrolment increased from 0.5 million girls to 22.7 million girls. Dropout rates for girls have fallen by 16.5% between the year 2000 and 2005. Programs like ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ and ‘Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy’ has helped increase the literacy rates from less than 10 percent to more than 50% today. The result of this is that India has world’s largest number of professionally qualified women. In fact India has the largest population of working women in the world, and has more number of doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors than the United States.

So it is understood that Women in India have slowly started recognizing women’s true potential. Women have started questioning the rules laid down for her by the society. As a result, she has started breaking barriers and earns a respectable position in the world. Today, the modern woman is so deft and self-sufficient that she can be easily called a superwoman, juggling many fronts single-handedly. Women are now fiercely ambitious and are proving their metal not only on the home front, but also in their respective professions. Women in India are coming up in all spheres of life. They are joining the universities and colleges in large numbers. They are entering into all kinds of professions like engineering, medicine, politics, teaching, etc. A nation’s progress and prosperity can be judged by the way it treats its women folk. There is a slow and steady awareness regarding giving the women their dues, and not mistreating them, seeing them as objects of possession. Despite progress, the very fact that women, along with being achievers, also are expected to fulfill their roles as wives or mothers, prioritizing home against anything else.

According to a special report on the girl child and labour by International Labour Organization (ILO) more than 100 million girl children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in child labour, out of which over 50% of them are in hazardous industries, and 20% of those are below twelve years old. It is hard to get correct statistical information about girl child labour since the kind of the work girls undertake is more invisible than that of boys. For example agricultural work, domestic work and working in home based workshops. Many girls are engaged in active labour which is disguised as household chores. ILO shows that 10% of girls are engaged in “household chores” for more than 24 hours in a week which is twice as much as boys. One of the most gender specific forms of child labour is child prostitution. The Human Rights Watch says that prostitution ages have dropped from 14-16 yrs in the 1980’s to 10-14 years in 1991.

According to United Nations Cyberschoolbus paper on the girl child, at least one in three girls and women worldwide has been physically harmed or sexually abused in her lifetime. Female genital mutilation though not common in India affects millions of girls and women every year. Sakshi a Delhi based NGO conducted a survey of 357 school girl children and revealed that 63% have experienced serious sexual abuse or rape, 29% had forced oral sex, squeezing of breast, and genitals. In 30% of all cases, the person behind the act was a family member. There is also a rise of sexual abuse in schools, where teachers molest their students sometimes in the presence of other children. Thus, if on one hand women are climbing the ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared to the past, women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Women may have left the secured domains of their home, but a harsh, cruel, exploitative world awaits them, where women have to prove their talent against the world, who see women as merely reproducing machine. The Indian woman has to make her way through all the socialized prejudices against her, and the men yet have to allow and accept the women to be equal participants in the country’s way forward. So coming to the conclusion

Conclusion

There is still a large section of women who are uneducated, and married off before the age of 18. Families are required to supply a chaste daughter to the family of her future husband. Also very few women are actually employed in good-paying jobs, and hence parents don’t see the point of spending money on girls’ education. Statistics say that close to 245 million Indian women lack the basic capability to read and write, which is a large number. Only 13.9% women are employed in the urban sector, and 29% in the domestic and agriculture sector, where too a majority of women are exploited by the men. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female, and a lot is yet to be achieved in this context. There is an urgent need to change this outmoded mindset of the patriarchal Indian society which views girls as burden. It needs to be established that girls are in no way less than boys. When given the right chances to nurture their talent and skills, they have it in them to excel in different areas of life.

REFERENCES

1) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for Youth-report 2016

2) UNDP, 2014. Human Development Report 2014. Sustaining Human Progress-Reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience

3) Kusuma Status of Girl Child in India Hardcover – Mar 2011

4) World Economic Forum, 2005. Women’s Empowerment: Measuring the GlobalGender Gap

5) World Economic Forum, 2014. The Global Gender Gap Report.

6) European Institute for Gender Equality, 2013. Gender Equality Index Report.

7) UNESCO, 2012. The education for All Development Index.

8) UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2013. Education Indicators and Data Analysis. Gender Parity Index.

9) International Centre for Research on Women, UN Women, 2012. Opportunities and Challenges of Women’s Political Participation in India.

10)Women and Child Development, 2009, GEM estimates for India and the States/UTs. Results and Analysis

11)https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2012/03/heres-how-the-status-of-women-has-changed-in-india-since-1950-till-date/

12) http://childlineindia.org.in/girl-child-rights-protection.htm

13) http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/session/presskit/fs12.htm

14)https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2012/03/heres-how-the-status-of-women-has-changed-in-india-since-1950-till-date/