Cheryl remembers the sad state of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, “Personally, I have known two cases wherein the second girl child was unwanted by the parents. These were educated parents working in the government sector but nonetheless harbouring the mentality of prioritizing sons. In both cases, the second girl child was unwanted. I have seen these girls struggling, sad, lost and unable to connect with people around them. Both of them committed suicide in their late teens.”
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) is an ambitious scheme launched in January, 2015 by the NDA government to raise awareness against sex selective abortions and to improve the state of welfare services for girls in India. Over 6 years later, what has been the contribution of this scheme? That’s the question of the hour.
Has there been a substantial relief to the girls through this scheme? Honestly, the zest with which Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, had been introduced into the country, the ground reality of the same remains starkly different. While the publicity for the scheme amount to ₹364 crores since 2014, the actual purpose remains un-catered to.
The most prominent outcome of this dubious scheme was revealed when “less than 25%” of the amount allotted had reached the districts and the states. More so, there are fewer educated girls than boys, with the illiteracy rate for girls at 34.2% while it’s 17.6% for boys.
Not only are Indian girls lagging with the pandemic, but the cause of girl’s education has also received an extra blow. Through a conversation with a Government school teacher in Uttar Pradesh, the ensuing gendered digital divide in the pandemic came to the surface. It just so happened that the girl child (studying in a government school) was not given a smartphone to attend her online classes. However, the girl’s much younger brother (from a private school) was provided with the only smartphone in the family!
The instances are even worse; likewise, in June 2020, in Kerala’s Malappuram district, “A class nine Dalit student allegedly committed suicide by setting herself afire over not being able to attend online class as she did not have a smartphone.” A smartphone isn’t a priority for a girl child because her education isn’t as important. Several such factors influence a girl’s ability to study.
The pain of not being allowed to study has been made secondary for the time being, as the ‘the question of Beti Bachao‘ or the survival of the girl child is still a brutal reality. The scheme that was meant to balance the sex ratio has been incompetent to do so. Likewise, the increasing number of rape cases in India will make any rational mind question the ‘apt’ situation for the girls’ education in particular and their survival.
This scheme, though, began with a great intention to uplift the condition of the girls. However, it is needless to mention that the ground reality of this scheme is the exact opposite of their desired aims and objectives. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap, India stands 108th amongst 149 countries, lowest amongst the BRICS economies. The sex ratio of the country has seen an overwhelming dip as well from 1961.
Hence, it is essential to ensure the girls’ proper education; their male counterparts need to be equally educated and aware. Once the prime cause of survival and education is served, the requirement to balance the sex ratio then needs to be highlighted.
If a scheme is being implemented across the country, then the district levels need to be the most active. Care must be taken to analyze each state’s different problems regarding girls’ education and not use a pan-India metric to judge every state as the same. To make way for a better room for women, more and more need to be positioned to initiate education.
The author is a Kaksha Correspondent as a part of writers’ training program under Kaksha Crisis.