The state girl child policy that was announced in January 2013 will improve child sex ratio and facilitate major structural changes for security and empowerment of young and adolescent girls, felt experts. These experts on Friday participated in a day-long discussion on exploring the role of civil society organizations in monitoring and implementation of the policy.
The discussion was organized by Ajit Foundation, headed by the State Planning Board’s deputy chairman VS Vyas, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF).
Rajasthan women and child development minister Bina Kak, inaugurated the workshop at a private hotel. She said, “The policy was accompanied by a number of schemes of the state government to encourage the birth of girls and ensure their empowerment. All of them indicate that the future of girls is bright in the state.”
She added, “A special emphasis has been laid on encouraging institutional deliveries. The Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojana and Kaleva Yojana have given indications that the maternal and infant mortality ratios are constantly declining”. She said these schemes had reduced financial burden on poor families.
Kak said she wanted to carry out decentralization of mid-day meals scheme, but there was a powerful lobby working against it. As a result, the units at the division level had not been established, she said while requesting the principal secretary of her department, PS Mehra, who was present among the audience, to get things done in the next four months while she had failed during the last four years.
The minister also described several other bottlenecks in the work for welfare of the girl child and cited an instance of giving new uniforms to the children going to anganwadis. “Even though I proposed that a common kurta-pyjama be given as uniform to both boys and girls, the finance department is not ready to treat it as uniform,” she quipped.
The State Women’s Commission chairperson, Lad Kumari Jain said financial empowerment of girls would enhance their dignity in the society and reduce crimes against women. She noted that there were 187 girls less for every 1,000 boys as of now and if the condition prevails, the situation would be alarming by 2021. Jain expressed concern over the recent incidents of sexual abuse of girls, including the one reported at Awaaz Foundation, and called for strict action to prevent the recurrence of such episodes.
src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Girls-future-bright-in-state/articleshow/20598435.cms