BECAUSE I AM A GIRL - 2

According to a survey by UNICEF, India accounts for more than 20% death of kids worldwide. Number of children dying before the age of 5 was more than 1.6 million in India. 1 in 18 children born in India die before 1st year and 1 in 13 kids die before age of 5. This shows that morality rate in kids even though with better health care advancements is too high.

Neglect and discrimination against girls is a serious issue as it denies them their basic human rights. To a large extent, neglect and discrimination against them is socially sanctioned by the normative structure of our society which denies a girl child personal autonomy, entitlements to proper and balanced food, education, healthcare and other opportunities of growth. Unfortunately, perpetration of discrimination and tolerance for it becomes part of our personality through the process of socialization which requires us to internalize the norms and values of our society and we rarely question and contest such discriminatory practices.

The discrimination is of several types that are amply reflected in the child sex ratio, educational attainment, child marriages, health and malnutrition. The intra-household dynamics where they are nurtured play a major role towards this. It determines their access to and control over the family resources as well as their bargaining power. As female have less bargaining power, despite having access to resources, they rarely have control over it.

The Girl child is also highly susceptible to abuse, violence and exploitation both inside and outside her home. It has been widely observed that the crimes against girl child have been increasing over the years. The available data does not present the true picture as majority of the cases go unreported due to the so called pragmatism of relatives for the paarivaarik garima and lok lazza. Rape, trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour and the beggary are some of the forms of violence perpetrated on the girl child. In the absence of gender disaggregated on abuse, exploitation and violence against girl children, it is difficult to assess the magnitude of the problem. The very nature of the various aspects of the child protection such as violence, abuse, exploitation and trafficking that thrive on the illegality and secrecy makes it difficult for the government to collect reliable data. Therefore, the efforts to prevent abuse and violence against the girl children calls for strengthening and strict enforcement of laws for rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, domestic violence, dowry and other related issues data on abuse, exploitation and violence against girl children, it is difficult to assess the magnitude of the problem.

Efforts must pay due attention to the gross disparities and the ground realities of the country. Disparity between girls and boys, between girls and boys belonging to various castes and classes, disparity between girls and boys belonging to different regions of the country must be taken into account for giving girl children their due position in India.