As per a World Bank report, India is a country with 48.4% women population in 2022. This half of the population is so valuable for the present as well as for the future. Development of the economy as well as society cannot be imagined without their contribution. A girl child needs beautiful grooming at an early age to become an empowered woman contributing towards better future. Keeping this in account, on December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child.
It has been specified that special attention is required to centre girls in the protection and promotion of rights; recognize, celebrate and support girls' leadership; introduce and scale up multi-sectoral programs that support adolescent girls' well-being; ensure information, services and systems meaningfully change to be adolescent-girl-friendly and make structural changes to scale up funding for girls.
Every girl has their rights and unique challenges with which she grows. If we see our country India, National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-2019-2021) states that the sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years (females per 1,000 males) is 929, which was 919 in NFHS 4 (2015-16). It also states that women aged 15-19 years who were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey are 6.8% and among all 59.1% are anaemic. This shows the condition of teenage/early pregnancy which biologically brings them to many reproductive health issues. For providing better health and for reproductive health many initiatives have taken like Poshan Abhiyan (2018), Rastriya Kishori Swasthya Yojana (2014), Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (2017), National Family Planning Programme (1952) and Maternal and Child Health Programme (2005). General health as well as reproductive health are always matter of concern but when we talk about a girl child it is menstrual health that has to be taken separately. In the year 2021-22, approximately 34.92 lakh adolescent girls were provided sanitary napkin packs every month as per 'Health Management Information System' (HMIS) data. Many States Government has also taken initiatives to improve the accessibility of sanitary napkins among girls but this need to be done at the central level so that uniformity should maintain in all states.
Education develops skills and competencies among humans which enhances their quality of life, benefiting individuals as well as societies, particularly developing girls and women imparts high social and economic values in society. The Right to Education Act, 2009, guarantees all Indian girls the right to education as a fundamental right and the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2021 supports it when it shows 76.5% of girls are enrolled in school. Some key interventions taken in education are, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidhyalay (2004), Beti Bachao Beti Paraho (2015), Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (2018) National Education Policy (2020) and Padhe Bharat (2023).
Mission Vatsalya is working to strengthen the safety net around vulnerable children as well as to the reduction of vulnerabilities to situations and actions that lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from their families. It supports the service delivery structures at the National, State and District levels for the children as acknowledged in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It addresses various aspects of child development while subsuming the on-going Scheme ‘Child Protection Services’ during the 15th Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Changing situations are bringing challenges like cyber abuse. The National Cyber Crime Reporting portal has been constituted to cater to complaints on cybercrimes only with a special focus on cybercrimes against women and children https://cybercrime.gov.in/
After COVID-19, society started thinking about mental health, which also plays an important role. So initiatives are required to be taken considering girl child as a core of concern. UN says “From maternal health care and parenting support for adolescent mothers to digital and life skills training; from comprehensive sexuality education to survivor support services and violence prevention programs; there is an urgent need for increased attention and resourcing for the key areas that enable girls to realize their rights and achieve their full potential.”
India is working towards building this infrastructure through multiple interventions. Initiatives have been taken in our country under the guidance of NITI Ayog, by ministries at the central, state as well as local level, So much has been done still many more to do but as economics says demand need to be equivalent to supply then only equilibrium will be attained, similarly need of hour is so much and work done is not at par with the requirement this leads towards giving more attention toward girl child then only we will create an environment for a girl child to have beautiful grooming at an early age of life.
The writer is Assistant Professor, Rural Management Programme, Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi. Views are personal.
