Girl Rights and Protection in India

Girl Rights and Protection in India

2013

Deepshikha Rana

Jamia Millia Islamia University

8/14/2013



1

Preface

ndia is one of the few countries where selective sex gender

bias exists till today. The onslaught of feminism has not

allowed Indian women to revolt against the century old

systems. For centuries together women have played their roles of

being the provider and live-wire of families without even a thank

you note at the end of their lives. It has been proven in India and

other countries that where ever women were given liberty they

changed the world and made it a better place to live.

Education and training helps the woman to hone her talents. She

can earn more money. Women have the ability to save earned

money for further education or better healthcare for children and

families. Men on the other hand are spendthrifts. When they earn

they spend it on vices and make life hell for families. The

economic status of a woman gives her a better social

understanding. An educated woman is better equipped to defend

herself than an illiterate one against men, crimes and abuses.

Once she knows her rights she can also approach the courts.

Many daring women have taken such this route to bring men to

task.

It is only a woman who understands that weather a male or

female child, it should be healthy and given equal status. A

woman has the power to end the evil of dowry system also. If

girl child survives eventually population will be in control.

Families will be small, healthy better educated and happy.

Today’s woman has to be motivated to live. She will eventually

be a balanced mother. The craving for the ubiquitous male heir

must end. Discrimination between the male and female child

have to end for ever. Educated Indians have to behave

responsibly and set an example for one another.

The Ministry for Welfare of Woman and Child in India says,

‘don’t kill your girl child. We will look after her.’ It is an

embarrassment for all of us if we fail to protect the rights of the

girl child. India has examples of women who have risen from the

ashes like phoenix and done the country proud. India can be

poised and shining only if the girls are given an opportunity to prove their talents. In education they

have been toppers consistently against boys.

I

A girl is like a flower to

be nurtured. She is a

goddess to be revered.

She is mother earth that

sustains the very breath

of humanity. How can

man even think of

killing her in the

womb? It is said in the

Bhagwat Gita that the

karma of the past

catches up. For those

who have killed their

daughters mercilessly

they will go through the

same fate. But the

woman whose tender

heart continues to

nurture will still give a

chance to evil to

redeem. Unless India

gives women a chance

to survive, it would fail

as the world’s largest

democracy.


2

OOR TEACHING INFRASTRUCTURE

There is

absence of

adequate school

infrastructure.

Improper facilities and

inefficient teaching

staff is one of the main

factors affecting

literacy in India. There

was a shortage of

classrooms to

accommodate all the

students during 2006–2007. In addition, there is no proper provision for sanitation in most schools.

The study of 188 government-run primary schools in central and northern India revealed that 59%

of the schools had no drinking water facility and 89% without toilets. In 600,000 villages and

multiplying urban slum habitats, 'free and compulsory education' is the basic literacy instruction

dispensed by barely qualified 'para teachers'. The average Pupil Teacher Ratio for All India is 1:42,

implying teacher shortage. Such inadequacies resulted in a non-standardized school system where

literacy rates vary. Furthermore, the expenditure allocated to education was never above 4.3% of

the GDP from 1951–2002 despite the target of 6% by the Kothari Commission. This further

complicates the literacy problem in India.

Another barrier to female education in India is the lack of female teachers. As India is a gender

segregated society, it is a very important factor in the low female literacy rate in India.

ASTE DISCRIMINATION

Severe caste disparities also exist. Discrimination against lower castes has resulted in high

dropout rates and low enrolment rates. The National Sample Survey Organisation and the

National Family Health Survey collected data in India on the percentage of children completing

primary school which was reported to be only 36.8% and 37.7% respectively. On 21 February

2005, the Prime Minister of India said that he was pained to note that “only 47 out of 100 children

enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 per cent.” It is estimated that at

least 35 million, and possibly as many as 60 million, children aged 6–14 years are not in school.

Why India still has one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia?

P

C

Kerala has the highest female literacy rate (92% as per 2011 census) whereas

Rajasthan (52.7% as per 2011 census) has the lowest female literacy rate in India.

States such as Uttar Pradesh (59.3% as per 2011 census) and Bihar (53.3% as per

2011 census) that are the most populated states in India show low levels of

female literacy. This is directly related to the health and infant mortality. Kerala

has the lowest infant mortality whereas states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a

high mortality rate.


3

RESENCE OF POVERTY

Absolute poverty in India has also deterred the pursuit of

formal education as education is not deemed as the

highest priority among the poor as compared to other basic

necessities. The MRP-based (mixed recall period) poverty

estimates about 22% of poverty in 2004–05 which translated to 22

out of per 100 people are not meeting their basic needs, much less

than the need for education.

Poverty is the root cause of many problems in India and also of

low female literacy rate. More than one-third of population in

India is living below the poverty line. Though government is

putting efforts to make the primary education free but still parents

are not ready to send their girls to school due to lack of

accessibility to schools. In most of the rural areas lack of easy

accessibility to school is another reason for low female literacy

rate. Parents do not prefer to send girls to schools if these are

located at a far distance from their village or home. Even if

schools are there then lack of adequate school facilities becomes a

hurdle. Some of the schools are really in pathetic conditions and

do not have even basic facilities. As per a survey, 54% of schools

in Uttar Pradesh do not have water facility and 80% do not have

latrine facilities. Some even do not have enough rooms to

accommodate all the students.

ARGE PROPORTION OF ILLITERATE FEMALES

The large proportion of illiterate females is another reason

for the low literacy rate in India. Inequality based on

gender differences resulted in female literacy rates being lower at

65.46% lower than that of their male counterparts at 82.14%. Due

to strong stereotyping of female and male roles, Sons are thought

of to be more useful and hence are educated. Females are

expected to help out on agricultural farms at home as they are

increasingly replacing the males on such activities which require

no formal education. Fewer than 2% of girls who engaged in

agriculture work attended school.

EGATIVE PARENTS ATTITUDE AND GENDER BASED

INEQUALITY

The negative attitude of parents towards the girl child

and her education is one of the major reasons of low female

literacy rate in India. In most of the families, boys at home are

P

L

N

According to last census

held in 2001, the

percentage of female

literacy in the country is

54.16%.

The literacy rate in the

country has increased

from 18.33% in 1951 to

65.38% as per 2001

census. The female

literacy rate has also

increased from 8.86% in

1951 to 54.16%. It is

noticed that the female

literacy rate during the

period 1991-2001

increased by 14.87%

whereas male literacy

rate rose by 11.72%.

Hence the female

literacy rate actually

increased by 3.15% more

compared to male

literacy rate.

Education – The Right to

Learn

“Educate a man, you

educate one person,

educate a woman, you

educate a complete

family.”


4

given priority in terms of education but girls are not. Right from the beginning, parents do not

consider girls as earning members of their family, as after marriage they have to leave their parents’

home. So their education is just considered wastage of money and time. For this reason, parents

prefer to send boys to schools but not girls.

Some Other Factors Responsible for Poor Female Literacy Rate

Social discrimination and economic exploitation.

Occupation of girl child in domestic chores.

Low enrolment of girls in schools.

Low retention rate and high dropout rate.

But in spite of all reasons, women must understand and realize that education can actually end the

vicious cycle of poverty, their misfortune, so that they can live life with pride. In case of any

misfortune in life, it is education that would help her, not anything else. The government should

really work towards the number, distance and quality of schools in rural as well as urban India. We

should encourage the girl child in getting education to create a balanced and an educated society.

Defining Literacy

Still miles to go………………………

It has been estimated that at the current rate of progress, India will attain universal literacy only

until 2060. As per the census of 2011, an effective literacy rate for men was 82.14% whereas for

women it was 65.46%. Though there has been seen a substantial increase in the number of literate

women and this gap is narrowing, it still persists. Among such figures, there exists a ray of hope as

well. According to the 2011 census, since year 2011, 110 million additional women had become

literate as compared to 107 men that mean that the number of literate women is increasing.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

have drafted a definition of literacy as the "ability to identify, understand,

interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials

associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in

enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and

potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society."

The National Literacy Mission defines literacy as acquiring the skills of reading,

writing and arithmetic and the ability to apply them to one's day-to-day life.


5

Literacy in Asia at a glance

WORLD

(in million)

Total Male Female

Adult Literacy Rate**(15+) (%) 82 87 77

Adult Illiterates**(15+) in million 780.66 281.04 499.62

Youth literacy rate (15-24) (%) 87 90 84

Young illiterates (in million) 138.97 52.81 86.16

Out of School population (in

million)

76.84 33.25 43.59

LITERACY STATUS IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES

South Asian Countries

Country Total Non-

Literate

Population

15+age

(in million)

Literacy Rate 15+ (%)(2000)

Total Male Female

Maldives -- 96 96 96

Sri Lanka -- 91 92 89

India* 268.42 61 73 48

Bhutan -- -- -- --

Pakistan 48.81 50 63 36

Nepal 7.66 49 63 35

Bangladesh 52.53 43 52 33

Other Asian Countries

Country Total Non-literate

Population 15+ age

(in millions)

Literacy Rate 15+ (%)

(2000)

Total Male Female

Thailand 3.35 93 95 91

Philippines 3.50 93 93 93

Vietnam 4.90 90 94 87

Malaysia 1.72 89 92 85

Indonesia 15.10 90 94 87

China 87.01 91 95 87

Myanmar 3.20 90 94 86

Iran 10.50 77 84 70


6

Laos 1.01 69 77 61

Afghanistan 9.04 28 43 13

LITERACY STATUS IN NINE MOST POPULOUS COUNTRIES

Country Total Non-literate

Population 15+ age

Literacy Rate 15+ (%)

Total Male Female

Mexico 6.52 91 92 90

Indonesia 15.10 90 94 87

Brazil 17.36 89 88 89

China 87.01 91 95 87

Nigeria -- -- -- --

India* 268.42 61 73 48

Egypt 14.21 71 83 59

Pakistan 48.81 50 63 36

Bangladesh 52.53 43 52 33

* Source United Nations Development Programme Report 2009


7

Defining Child Abuse

The term 'Child Abuse' may have different connotations in different cultural milieu and socio-

economic Situations.

A universal definition

of child abuse in the

Indian context does

not exist and has yet to

be defined. According

to WHO:

Physical

Abuse:

Physical abuse

is the inflicting

of physical

injury upon a

child. This may

include

burning,

hitting,

punching,

shaking,

kicking,

beating or

otherwise

harming a child. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child. It may,

however, be the result of over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the

child's age.

Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse is inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. It includes

fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest,

rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To be considered ‘child abuse’, these

acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a

baby-sitter, a parent, or a day-care provider), or related to the child. If a stranger commits

these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely by the police and

criminal courts.

Physical Abuse

1. Two out of every three children were physically abused.

2. Out of 69% children physically abused in 13 sample states, 54.68%

were boys.

3. Over 50% children in all the 13 sample states were being subjected to

one or the other form of physical abuse.

4. Out of those children physically abused in family situations, 88.6%

were physically abused by parents.

5. 65% of school going children reported facing corporal punishment i.e.

two out of three children were victims of corporal punishment.

6. 62% of the corporal punishment was in government and municipal

school.

7. The State of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi have almost

consistently reported higher rates of abuse in all forms as compared to

other states.

8. Most children did not report the matter to anyone.

9. 50.2% children worked seven days a week.


8

This was statement of a respondent interviewed by me.


9

Emotional

Abuse:

Emotional abuse

is also known as

verbal abuse,

mental abuse,

and

psychological

maltreatment. It

includes acts or

the failures to

act by parents or

caretakers that

have caused or

could cause,

serious

behavioural,

cognitive,

emotional, or

mental trauma.

This can include

parents/caretaker

s using extreme

and/or bizarre

forms of punishment, such as confinement in a closet or dark room or being tied to a chair

for long periods of time or threatening or terrorizing a child. Less severe acts, but no less

damaging, are belittling or rejecting treatment, using derogatory terms to describe the child,

habitual tendency to blame the child or make him/her a scapegoat.

Neglect: It is the failure to provide for the child's basic needs. Neglect can be physical,

educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food or

clothing, appropriate medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection (heat or cold).

Sexual Abuse

1. 53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual

abuse.

2. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest

percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls.

3. 21.90% child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual

abuse and 50.76% other forms of sexual abuse.

4. Out of the child respondents, 5.69% reported being sexually assaulted.

5. Children in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi reported the

highest incidence of sexual assault.

6. Children on street, children at work and children in institutional care

reported the highest incidence of sexual assault.

7. 50% abuses are persons known to the child or in a position of trust and

responsibility.

8. Most children did not report the matter to anyone.

Emotional Abuse and Girl Child Neglect

1. Every second child reported facing emotional abuse.

2. Equal percentage of both girls and boys reported facing emotional

abuse.

3. In 83% of the cases parents were the abusers.


10

It may include abandonment. Educational neglect includes failure to provide appropriate

schooling or special educational needs, allowing excessive truancies. Psychological neglect

includes the lack of any emotional support and love, never attending to the child, substance

abuse including allowing the child to participate in drug and alcohol use.

Reasons for Child Abuse

EVIANT PARENTS’ EXPECTATIONS

Child abuse is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. Understanding the causes of

abuse is crucial to addressing the problem of child abuse. Parents who physically abuse their

spouses are more likely than others to physically abuse their children. However, it is impossible to

know whether marital strife is a

cause of child abuse, or if both the

marital strife and the abuse are

caused by tendencies in the abuser.

This commonly used term refers to

the process of parents' setting

expectations for their child that are

clearly beyond the child's

capability. When parents'

expectations are particularly

deviant (e.g., preschool children

who are expected to be totally

responsible for self-care or

provision of nurturance to parents)

the resulting frustration caused by

the child's non-compliance is

believed to function as a contributory if not necessary cause of child abuse.

NINTENDED PREGNANCIES

Children resulting from unintended pregnancies are more likely to be abused or neglected.

Neglect is by far the most common form of child abuse, accounting for more than 78% of all cases.

In addition, unintended pregnancies are more likely than intended pregnancies to be associated with

abusive relationships, and there is an increased risk of physical violence during pregnancy. They

also result in poorer maternal mental health, and lower mother-child relationship quality.

HYSICAL OR MENTAL DISABILITY

A study on child abuse sought to determine: the forms of child abuse perpetrated on children

with disabilities; the extent of child abuse; and the causes of child abuse of children with

disabilities. A questionnaire on child abuse was adapted and used to collect data in this study.

D

U

P


11

Participants comprised a sample of 31 pupils with disabilities (15 children with vision impairment

and 16 children with hearing impairment) selected from special schools in Botswana. The study

found that the majority of participants were involved in doing domestic chores. They were also

sexually, physically and emotionally abused by their teachers. This study showed that children with

disabilities were vulnerable to child abuse in their schools.

UBSTANCE ABUSE

Substance abuse can be a major contributing factor to child abuse. One study found that

parents with documented substance abuse, most commonly alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, were

much more likely to mistreat their children, and were also much more likely to reject court-ordered

services and treatments. Another study found that over two-thirds of cases of child maltreatment

involved parents with substance abuse problems. This study specifically found relationships

between alcohol and physical abuse, and between cocaine and sexual abuse.

Although the abuse survivor does not always realise the abuse is wrong, the

internal confusion can lead to chaos. Inner anger turns to outer frustration.

Once aged 17/18, drink and drugs are used to numb the hurt feelings,

nightmares and daytime flashbacks. Acquisitive crimes to pay for the

chemicals are inevitable if the survivor is unable to find employment.

A 2010 article in the BBC reports that thousands of African children have

been abandoned, tortured and murdered because they are believed to be

witches.

S


12

NEMPLOYMENT AND FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

Unemployment and financial difficulties are associated with increased rates of child abuse. In

2009 CBS News reported that child abuse in the United States had increased during the economic

recession. It gave the example of a father who had never been the primary care-taker of the

children. Now that the father was in that role, the children began to come in with injuries.

ON-BIOLOGICAL PARENTS

A 1988 study of child murders in the US found that children are 100 times more often killed by a

"non-biological parent (e.g. step-parent, co-habited or boyfriend/girlfriend of a biological parent)"

than by a biological parent. An evolutionary psychology explanation for this is that using resources

in order to take care of another person's biological child is likely not a good strategy for increasing

reproductive success. More generally, stepchildren have a much higher risk of being abused which

is sometimes referred to as the Cinderella effect. The Cinderella Effect attempts to explain the

observation that parents are more likely to kill their stepchildren than their biological children using

evolutionary logic - as described by Daly and Wilson: "research concerning animal social

U

N


13

behaviour provide a rationale for expecting parents to be discriminative in their care and affection,

and more specifically, to discriminate in favour of their own young".

XTRINSIC RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION

Psychologists conducted a study in the United States in 2010 which examined over 200

regular church attendees from eleven different denominations of Christianity, most of whom

were educated, upper-middle class White Americans, found that extrinsic religious orientation was

associated with a greater risk of physical child abuse. Those with a more extrinsic religious

orientation who also adhered to greater social conformity were particularly more likely to share

characteristics with physically abusive subjects. Subjects who adhered to Biblical literalism

exhibited a higher potential of physical child abuse. Those who had a more intrinsic religious

orientation were not found to be at a greater risk of child abuse, although they sometimes exhibited

greater social

conformity or a greater

propensity for holding

literal interpretations

of the Bible.

Approximately 85% of

the study's subjects

were parents.

Causal factors of child

sex offenders are not

known conclusively.

The experience of

sexual abuse as a child

was previously

thought to be a strong

risk factor, but

research does not

show a causal relationship, as the vast majority of sexually abused children do not grow up to be

adult offenders, nor do the majority of adult offenders report childhood sexual abuse. The US

Government Accountability Office concluded, "The existence of a cycle of sexual abuse was not

established." Before 1996, there was greater belief in the theory of a "cycle of violence," because

most of the research done was retrospective—abusers were asked if they had experienced past

abuse. Even the majority of studies found that most adult sex offenders said they had not been

sexually abused during childhood, but studies varied in terms of their estimates of the percentage of

such offenders who had been abused, from 0 to 79 per cent. More recent prospective longitudinal

research—studying children with documented cases of sexual abuse over time to determine what

percentage become adult offenders—has demonstrated that the cycle of violence theory is not an

adequate explanation for why people molest children.

E

1. Every fifth child in the world lives in India 2. Every third malnourished child in the world lives in India 3. Every second Indian child is underweight 4. Three out of four children in India are anaemic 5. Every second new born has reduced learning capacity due to iodine deficiency 6. Decline in female/male ratio is maximum in 0-6 years: 927 females per 1000

males 7. Birth registration is just 62% (RGI-2004) 8. Retention rate at Primary level is 71.01% (Elementary Education in India

Progress towards UEE NUEPA Flash 9. Statistics DISE 2005-2006) 10. Girls' enrolment in schools at primary level is 47.79% (Elementary Education in

India Progress towards UEE NUEPA Flash Statistics DISE 2005-2006) 11. 1104 lakh child labour in the country (SRO 2000) 12. IMR is as high as 58 per 1000 live births (SRS- 2005) 13. MMR is equally high at 301 per 100,000 live births (SRS, 2001-03) 14. Children born with low birth weight are 46% (NFHS-III) 15. Children under 3 with anaemia are 79% (NFHS-III) 16. Immunization coverage is very low (polio -78.2%, measles-58.8%, DPT-55.3%,

BCG-78%(NFHS-III)


14

Research has determined that parental attitude and support has a great deal of influence on girls’

participation and level of success attained in social participation. Parents and community attitudes

are mainly influenced by traditional beliefs regarding the ideal roles of women and girls in society.

Traditionally, the only roles available to women were those of wives and mothers. Women were

thus seen as nurturers and mainly as providing support for men who worked to provide for the

family. Being physically weaker, women were therefore also perceived as being less capable and

requiring the protection and guidance of men. These attitudes have prevailed even in current times

when socio-economic changes have resulted in changes to roles

women are now expected to undertake. Socio-economic changes

have made education necessary, not just for the purposes of

providing income earning opportunities, but also for the potential

to contribute to the improvement in the standards of living of

individuals, families and communities.

These traditional beliefs have been found to foster negative

attitudes which limit family and community support for girls’

participation in society. Identification and examination of these

attitudes is necessary before any decisions can be made on what

should and can be done to bring about change. However, it is an

indisputable fact that without parents and community support, any

efforts to improve girls’ participation in society in particular will

be greatly hampered.

Low enrolment and high dropout rates for girls at all levels of

Why Girls are less encouraged than boys to participate in and learn about the social.


15

education were stated as some of the main reasons for the relatively low numbers of girls

participating in social activity since they assume themselves illiterate. It was the opinion of many

that one of the main reasons for this low enrolment and high dropout is the negative attitude that

many parents have towards the education of girls. This negative attitude was attributed to

traditional socio-cultural beliefs regarding gender roles and abilities. In African and Indian tradition

and culture, women were expected to exclusively assume the roles of mothers and wives. Women

were seen as nurturing beings and as such were expected to be the home makers and take care of

the children. They were also expected to be obedient and subservient to the men. Women were seen

as less capable, physically, mentally and in all areas outside their accepted roles, than men. As a

result women were seen as requiring protection, guidance, supervision and leadership from men. It

was thus accepted that men would fill decision making leadership capacities in society, while

women played a mainly supportive/ nurturing role.

Different societies identify a certain set of characteristics as feminine and another set as masculine

but these are not same across different cultures. It depends on child rearing practices. From

childhood girls and boys are trained in gender specific behaviour. Bravery and confidence are

‘masculine’ so must be a guy’s cup of tea whereas sensitivity and shyness must be a girl’s asset.

There is nothing ‘natural’ about the sexual division of labour; little to do with biology and more to

do with ideological assumptions. All the household work-cooking, cleaning looking after children

can equally is done by men. Women are supposed to be physically weak and unfit for the manual

labour but that is what they are precisely made to do both within the home and outside - carry

heavy loads of water, carry head loads in mining in construction etc. But when the manual work

that women do is mechanized, making it both lighter and better paid then it is men who receive

training to use the new machinery and women are edged out.

With due passage of time role of women rose to prominence, out of necessity . However, the

perception of women and their accepted roles and perceived capabilities have remained the same,

i.e. traditional. Many people therefore have difficulty accepting that there is a need to equip women

with the skills and knowledge necessary, through education, to enable them to take up their new

roles and function effectively in the modern world.

The perceived ideal roles and characteristics of women and girls influence how girls and boys are

socialized in the home, community and school. Because girls and women in general are considered

physically weaker and less capable than men, they are often overtly protected and supervised to

keep them from what is considered threatening to their safety i.e. physical, sexual, mental and

emotional safety.

Some parents are reluctant towards social participation because of the belief that this could be a

corrupting influence. In some communities, there is the view that in social participation, girls’

morals would be corrupted because of the amount of time they would spend with boys. There was

also fear for the physical and sexual safety of girls in society due to cases of physical and sexual

harassment and abuse from people in the society.

Perceived gender roles and characteristics influence the way children are expected to behave, the

kind of work they do and even the way they play. Girls are, for example, rarely the ones sent to the

shops to do shopping, neither are they allowed to play outside the home for long periods of time as

boys often do. This denies girls the opportunity to explore and experiment with diverse activities

and situations outside the home which could be useful to them within the social curriculum: e.g.

boys when they go shopping get to practically use the knowledge and skills acquired in general,


16

they get to see various related activities first hand, e.g. playing with various tools, constructing

things etc. Being outside the home also allows them to develop their socializing skills to a better

degree than girls, and they are therefore more at ease outside the home environment. Boys therefore

develop the confidence to work with society and to have an advantage in the use of exploratory and

participatory methods advocated.

In some cultures, after a certain age, girls are not expected to look men directly in the eye and are

expected to appear humble and respectful before their elders. This attitude and the subsequent

socialization of girls, has a number of effects. One is that it makes it difficult for girls to fully

benefit from the participatory, discovery methods that are recommended because they will be

reluctant to ask questions, participate fully in discussions or work in groups with members of the

opposite sex. This has a negative effect on their performance in social activities. Another issue is

that because girls are expected to be obedient and socialized to feel that boys and men are in some

ways their superiors; many are vulnerable to physical and sexual harassment and abuse and lack the

confidence, skills and knowledge of such situations. This exposes them to the risk of pregnancy and

STD's and the resulting consequences, including social dropout. This harassment has also been

proved through research to have a negative effect on girls’ attitudes towards school and their ability

to focus on and perform well in their social activities.

Many parents and community members also have the attitude that educating girls is a waste of time

and money, because they will eventually be married off and their education would therefore only

benefit their husbands and the families they marry into. Money spent on the girl's education would

thus be considered lost to the girls’ family.

Since there was also the expectation that boys will become the "breadwinners" of their future

families, many parents and community members felt that boys should for this reason be provided

with the every advantage to help them fulfil this role, this includes educating them as far as

possible. Girls, on the other hand, it is expected, will have husbands who will provide for them and

an education is therefore not essential for them. Low education also debars them from social

participation.

Many parents also expresses the belief that boys would take care of them in their old age, thus

providing them with a sense of security about their future while girls once married would be

expected to take care of those in the families they married into. Thus in order to ensure that their

sons will be able to carry out this responsibility, parents feel that they should provide their sons

with social education so that they can in turn become better social participant.

Girls are expected to take up the roles of wives and mothers in adulthood and their socialization at

home, in the community and school is geared towards providing them with experiences that will

prepare them to carry out these roles effectively. These expectations determine the division of

labour within the household, with girls being assigned the home making household chores like food

preparation, cooking, cleaning, fetching firewood and water, washing clothes and, caring for

younger siblings. In addition to this in some areas girls are also expected to participate in farming

activities. In Ghana, for example, girls were also observed to be the ones frequently engaged in

petty trading in order to make extra income for the family. It was noted that previous research as

well information gathered from students, parents indicated that generally girls spent considerably

more time performing household tasks than boys. It was also noted that these chores were often

performed by girls, either early in morning before school or in the evenings after school. This

seems to keep them away from social participation.


17

Girls are often treated as inferior and are socialized to put themselves last, thus undermining their

self-esteem. Discrimination and neglect in childhood can initiate a lifelong downward spiral of

deprivation and exclusion from the social mainstream. Girls are less encouraged than boys to

participate in and learn about the social, economic and political functioning of society, with the

result that they are not offered the same opportunities as boys to take part in decision-making

processes.

Defining Child

Marriage

UNICEF defines child

marriage as a formal

marriage or union before 18

years of age. UN Women

defines child marriage as a

forced marriage before 18

years of age because they

believe children under age

18 are incapable of giving

their consent.

Children in Scotland can

marry at 16 without any parental consent. Scotland is the only developed country where child

marriage is legal.

Child marriage is a common practice in many countries around the

world; however it is especially prevalent in India, where more than one

third of all child brides live. According to UNICEF, 47% of girls are

married by 18 years of age, and 18% are married by 15 years of age.

These marriages are often performed without the consent of the girls

involved in the marriage. Indian law has made child marriage illegal, but

it is still widely practiced across the nation. The highest rates are seen

particularly in the rural states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya

Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. It affects both boys and girls, but

statistics show that girls are far more likely to be forced into a child

marriage than boys; however the percentage of girls forced into child

marriage in India has declined in recent years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNICEF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_law


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh






18

Child marriage, also known as Bal Vivaha, is believed to

have begun during the medieval ages of India. At this time,

the political atmosphere was turbulent and ruled by Delhi

Sultans in an absolute monarchy government. The sultans

had an extreme commitment to their religion and forced

many to convert, causing socio-cultural unrest, and Hindu

women suffered the most. These days of the Delhi Sultans

produced practices such as child marriage and lowered the

status of women even further. They invented the ill omen of

giving birth to a female baby and believed that young

unmarried girls caused disaster. Child marriage became a

widespread cultural practice with various reasons to justify it,

and many marriages were performed while the girl was still

an infant.

Purpose of Child Marriage

Parents of a child entering into a child marriage are often

poor and use the marriage as a way to make her future better,

especially in areas with little economic opportunities. During

times of war, parents often marry off their young child to

protect her from the conflicts raging around her. Some

families still use child marriage to build alliances, as they did

during the medieval ages. Statistically, a girl in a child

marriage has less of a chance to go to school, and parents

think education will undermine her ability to be a traditional

wife and mother. Virginity is an important part of Indian

culture, and parents want to ensure their daughters do not

have pre-marital sex, and child marriage is an easy way to fix

this

How to combat Child Marriage

DUCATING AND EMPOWERING GIRLS

Education is one of the most powerful tools to delay the

age at which girls marry as school attendance helps

shift norms around child marriage.

Improving girls’ access to quality schooling will increase

girls’ chances of gaining a secondary education and helps to

delay marriage. When a girl in the developing world receives

E

Apni Beti, Apna Dhan (ABAD),

which translates to "Our

Daughter, Our Wealth," is one

of India's first conditional cash

transfer programmes

dedicated to delaying young

marriages across the nation.

In 1994, the Indian

government implemented

this programme in the state

of Haryana. On the birth of a

mother's first, second, or

third child, they are set to

receive 500 or US$11 within

the first 15 days to cover their

post-delivery needs. Along

with this, the government

gives 2,500, or US$55, to

invest in a long-term savings

bond in the daughter's name,

which can be later cashed for

25,000, or US$550, after her

18 birthday. She can only

receive the money if she is

not married. Anju Malhotra,

an expert on child marriage

and adolescent girls said of

this programme, "No other

conditional cash transfer has

this focus of delaying

marriage... It's an incentive to

encourage parents to value

their daughters."





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-marital_sex


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%27s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%27s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_cash_transfer




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_government




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haryana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haryana






19

seven or more years of education, she marries on average four years later.

Empowering girls, by offering them opportunities to gain skills and education, providing support

networks and creating ‘safe spaces’ where girls can gather and meet outside the home, can help

girls to assert their right to choose when they marry.

UPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME ACTIVIST

It is needed to set up youth groups, bringing together adolescent girls and boys to share their

experiences and to encourage girls and boys to become advocates for change. It is needed to

encourage dialogue between youth groups and local community leaders or government officials on

the issues that affect young people, including child marriage.

OBILISING AND EDUCATING COMMUNITIES

Laws alone won’t end child marriage – in many instances legislation is not enforced as

many local authorities are reluctant to be seen as interfering in the private affairs of families. Many

are simply unaware of the scale of child

marriage and the harmful impact it can

have.

It is needed to raise awareness among

communities of the impact of child

marriage such as street theatre, bicycle

rallies, and encouraging community

dialogue, which often results in a

collective community pledge to end child

marriage.

RINGING MEN AND TRADITIONAL

LEADERS ON BOARD

Religious and traditional leaders, too, can play a key role in speaking out against child

marriage and changing community attitudes. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken forcefully on

the need for men and boys, as well as religious and traditional leaders, to support efforts to end

child marriage.

NACTING AND ENFORCING LAWS THAT SET A LEGAL MINIMUM AGE FOR MARRIAGE

While most countries legislate for a minimum legal age for marriage, this is often not

enforced. Some countries continue to have a legal age for marriage lower than in the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child. The legal age for marriage is also higher for men than

women in many countries.

S

M

B

E


20

NTRODUCING INCENTIVES

Introducing economic incentives can help to encourage

families to consider alternatives to child marriage. Incentives

include microfinance schemes to help girls support themselves

and their families, and providing loans, subsidies and

conditional cash transfers to parents of girls at risk of becoming

child brides.

AISING AWARENESS IN MEDIA

It is needed to use mass media campaigns to raise awareness about general rights and laws and the

impact of child marriage. We should aim to both raise awareness among the general public and to

pressurize government and community leaders to take action to end this practice.

THER METHODS OF COMBATING CHILD MARRIAGE

Adopting a clear and unambiguous position on child and forced marriages and rectifying the

legislative loopholes between religious, customary and civil marriages (Ouagadougou Declaration

on Child Marriage, October 2003)

• Introducing laws to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 years, as agreed in the African Charter on

the Rights and Welfare of the Child

• Raising the awareness of all stakeholders, including parents, on the negative impacts of child

marriage

• Creating safety nets for girls and young women who escape a forced, and often violent, marriage

• Creating and maintaining birth, death and marriage data registries with full national coverage in

all countries as recommended in the Pinheiro report on violence against children (2006)

• Promoting and protecting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women,

through legislation, availability of services and information and community outreach

• Promoting gender equality and the right of girls and young women to education

Press Release

UNICEF: Preventing Child Marriage

To prevent child marriage a wide range of individuals and organizations, from community leaders

to international bodies, must take action. A first step is to inform parents and young people about

the negative implications of child marriage so they can choose to prevent it.

I

R

O


21

Education is a key in this process. Persuading parents to keep their daughters in school is critical for

the overall development of girls - and in the postponement of marriage. Sri Lanka and the Indian

state of Kerala are good examples. Both have a high age of first

marriage. Both also have given priority to girls' education. "This has changed the way men and

women perceive their roles and potential, and has led to a greater support for the rights of women

than is found in many other parts of (South Asia)," says the report.

For girls who are already married, services must be developed to counsel them on issues ranging

from abuse to reproduction. Girls aged 15 to 19 give birth to 15 million babies a year. Many of

them do so without attending an ante-natal clinic or receiving the help of a professional midwife.

These can have serious repercussions on the health of both mother and child.

What is UNICEF doing to address the problem of early marriage?

UNICEF addresses child marriage as part of its broader approach to gender discrimination, which

undermines the right

of women and

children. UNICEF's

Global Girls'

Education Programme

operates in more than

60 countries to ensure

that girls have an

equal opportunity at

education, which is a

key in postponing

marriage and for the

overall development of girls.

In addition to supporting advocacy and

communication campaigns in several countries,

UNICEF also has helped develop two successful

initiatives in the regions with highest rate of child

marriage, South Asia and sub-Saharan African.

The Meena initiative in South Asia is named after the

young cartoon heroine of a multi-media package and

serves as a catalyst for discussion on gender

discrimination in childhood. Issues covered include

son preference, unfair treatment of girls in the family,

their lesser access to health and education services,

harmful traditional practices such as dowry and sexual

harassment, as well as early marriage.

Building on Meena's success, the Sara Adolescent

Girl Communication Initiative has been developed in

10 Eastern and Southern African countries. The

importance of staying in school is one of the main

messages of this radio series. Other issues covered

"Forcing children,

especially girls, into early

marriages can be

physically and

emotionally harmful,"

said Carol Bellamy, the

Executive Director of

UNICEF. "It violates their

rights to personal

freedom and growth. Yet

until now there has been

virtually no attempt to

examine child marriage

as a human rights

violation in and of

itself."

A report by the UNICEF revealed that 82 per cent of girls in Rajasthan are

married before they are 18, 15 per cent of girls in rural areas across the country

are married before 13 and a major 52 per cent of girls have their first pregnancy

between 15 and 19.

By the Indian law, it is illegal to allow or facilitate marriage of a boy under 21

and a girl under 18. Amongst all the states in India, it is Rajasthan that tops the

list with the average age of a girl at marriage being 16.6 years, closely followed

by Bihar (17.2 years) and Madhya Pradesh (17 years).


22

include, HIV/AIDS, domestic workload, FGM and early marriage.

UR PLAN OF ACTION

For a long time in the country of India, we have witnessed a son preference and a neglect of

girls. Women conceive female babies through selective abortion and hereby cause an

imbalanced sex ratio of boys to girls 100: 80. Though laws have been passed to prohibit abortions,

the problem of gender preference still remains due to the strong social practice.

O

“One is not born, but is made a women”

- Simone de Beauvoir


23

Given the status quo, we believe, more effective approaches should be taken in order to alter the

situation. By our definition, to incentivize the rearing of girls means the government financially

supports families who raise girls through enhanced education subsidy, state welfare for babies and

new mothers and cash reward. Namely we offer free education at a high school level for all the

female students. We provide free medical cares for baby girls and new mothers. We also transfer

cash as a reward to the bank accounts of those families who raise girls.

EFENCE FOR

GENDER

EQUALITY

Gender equality

means that

everyone is equally

entitled to all the

rights and freedoms

without distinction

of sex.

We defend the gender equality, on most occasions, in order to protect women’s rights. Because the

female are often disempowered due to the weaker physical condition, negative social practices and

religious doctrines, particularly in the developing countries like India.

Why do we defend gender equality? Because we believe in modern time when the prosperity of a

country or the happiness of a household is mostly linked people’s knowledge but not the labour,

women are no less capable than men and play an equally important role in the society. Furthermore,

in certain perspectives, women even play a crucial role that can’t be substituted by men, for

example pregnancy.

If we let along the prevailing of son preference, it severely enhances the discrimination against the

female in the following ways:

Firstly, it’s a full recognition that girls are actually at a disadvantaged position. It’s a simple logic:

we prefer sons, for girls are disempowered. For instance, we want sons, for we assume that sons are

more likely to provide financial and emotional care when we’re getting old.

Secondly, it kills the chances for any improvements. If we don’t incentivize the rearing of girls,

children grow in an environment in which they witness, feel and even conduct the discrimination.

Brothers have good foods, wear fancy clothes and go to better schools, while sisters are often

neglected by their parents. When they become parents, they tend to pass along the discrimination.

To tackle the discrimination, we have to do it at the first place. That is to say, there’s no gender

preference when you want a baby.

BALANCED SEX RATIO IS ESSENTIAL FOR SOCIAL STABILITY

In a genetic perspective, the sex ratio of human population should be 1:1 and this is also a

balanced ratio applying with the law of nature.

Obviously, a balanced sex ratio makes it happen that theoretically every man can find a woman for

marriage. In a biological perspective, this ensures the human reproduction and furthermore satisfies

D

A

A pregnant woman is dependent on the mother-in-law and husband for any

treatment that she needs. Atrocities against women have risen. Every 26 minutes

a woman is molested. Every 34 minutes a rape takes place. Every 42 minutes a

sexual harassment incident occurs. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. And

every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death over dowry. One-quarter of the

reported rapes involve girls under the age of 16 but they are never reported.


24

each side’s sexual desire. In a social perspective, most individual is included in the basic units of

the society ---- nuclear families. Through mutual-assistance, every family member is guaranteed

with psychological, financial care and thus works and rests normally. With every individual enjoys

a normal life within a family, the goal of social stability and sustainable development is reached. A

balanced sex ratio lays foundation for all these above. A serious imbalanced sex ratio certainly

harms India. First of all, it contributes to an increase in crime. As an emerging power, Indian

society is a highly-competitive in which people live under much pressure along with so many

negative emotions. Therefore people are very to feel lonely and helpless without mental and

financial care from family. It’s quite possible for people of this sort to conduct crimes when they

find that there’s no way out. Secondly, it incentivizes the human trafficking. For the continuation of

family linage which is quite crucial in the Indian culture, people make every effort to form a family.

When there’s actually no chance to form a family in common way, they do it by buying a wife. It

does happen in China, Indian’s neighbouring country which shares with it similar oriental culture,

economic situation and imbalanced sex ratio. Thirdly, it demands for prostitution and thus further

weakens women’s social status. Men’s social desires can’t be eradicated. A large number of

bachelors are sure to

raise the demand for

prostitution, for they

don’t have wives as

regular sexual

companion.

Prostitution that treats

women as sexual tools

violates women’s right.

LECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE

Increase investment in electronic surveillance so that it detects all crimes against

women/children. Intelligence is the Key. The adverse fallout will be that we become a "Police

State". There needs to be safeguards against the misuse of surveillance. Once detected, justice

should be delivered in a short time. Appeals should not be allowed unless the process of reaching

the judgement itself is flawed or laws of Natural Justice have not been followed. Punishments/fines

should have a deterrent effect like in other developing Asian countries/City states.

RANSPARENCY IN ADMINISTRATION

Enhance transparency in administration of the justice system - from the time a complaint is

made till the time a punishment is awarded. Wonder why the accused are hooded - do they need

protection or are they to be anonymous? Video cameras should be fitted in every police station and

it should be accessible through the internet for anyone who is interested in remotely watching what

happens in a police station. Unless the trial is in Camera, even the trial proceedings should be

transparent.

Police should be accountable to the people who reside in the jurisdiction of that police station.

Citizen should have a right to ask the police for accountability as they are paid from taxes collected

from the citizen. In short - decentralise governance to the lowest level possible subject to laws of

the land.

E

T

How sad is this!!!!!!

In many homes across the country, girls are treated with indifference. Daughters

are considered as liabilities. Outside one sex determination clinic in Haryana, it

was written, pay Rs. 50 now rather than pay Rs. 50, 000 later (as dowry).


25

UBLIC TRANSPORT SAFETY

All public transport should be under surveillance and tracked. It does not cost much. The

control centre of the DTC or any other body operating the services should be able to

communicate to the driver and passengers in the vehicle. The contact number of the control centre

and details of the driver should be prominently displayed in the vehicle. A complaint from the

commuter should activate the safety mechanisms (immobilise the vehicle at a busy junction) and

activate the police with the precise location of the vehicle.

E SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

My only view is that let us see what we can

do from our area of control, do any of us respond on

the spot if we see something going wrong or

somebody eve-teasing, should we as each individual

not muster courage and take them on, generally in market or malls or roads there are hundreds of

people but when we see something we turn our face and move on , OK we need to take care of our

safety also but one thing is abundant on Indian roads and that is stones of all the sizes , just pick one

and start throwing , it is 0.1 or 0.2 % people who do these things but balance are too afraid to even

shout.

Let us start doing what we can do from our area of control- shout or throw stone and not wait for

police to arrive or government to make some more laws.

HANGE OF MENTALITY

In India, women are not safe at all. In literature it is mentioned that women needs escort all

the time. I don't believe in it. We need freedom, I need freedom. We are talking of death

penalty for rapist. Now think, if father is rapping his own daughter, then what punishment will one

give? If molester is brother or uncle or close relative friend, then what punishment will one give?

We need High Morality, Values consciousness’s mentality. Improve training and mentality.

Improve Values. It is most important for us .Women need to give training and teach our male folks

P

W

C


26

good values and morality to our children. Women no longer think it is a taboo. So, wake up women,

be active in saving your female progeny.

HANGE IN ATTITUDE & APPROACH WHETHER AT WORK OR WITHIN OUR PERSONAL

SPACE.

Armchair activism or even actively participating in such movements has little meaning if we don’t

change ourselves or as in many cases the hypocritical attitude-- we say one thing but our activities

reflect an entirely different attitude. Even educated people resort to violence & apathy-- be it

domestic violence or driving by when we see somebody in trouble publicly.

Attitudes decide what an individual does. It flows from Values that one holds dear. Values are

ingrained by Culture. So we need a Cultural change- The most difficult for a Nation to achieve. It is

a long shot.

MPARTING “REAL” EDUCATION

Education is not accumulation of Degrees, Diplomas etc. There are so many criminals who have

degrees. The true meaning of education is to make an individual a "useful" member of the

society. Are our families, schools and colleges aligned to this aim? We need to introspect.

Indian culture itself teaches right from childhood but still Criminals are from society and organised

crimes are day by day increasing ...Why? It’s not just women. If we go back and check the records

or the cases which are not registered do think in last 65 years of freedom and democracy these type

of crimes did not took place or we everyone know but were silent. Fact is its time to wake up. Self-

defence is must and part of education system; Respect for females is not to be taught. It’s in our

blood, but still if law and order and judiciary system gets restructured with modern times to avoid

organised crimes. Adding more female super cops with martial arts and latest gadgets, technologies

to avoid such crimes

UPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME ACTIVIST

It is needed to set up youth groups, bringing together adolescent girls and boys to share their

experiences and to encourage girls and boys to become advocates for change. It is needed to

encourage dialogue between youth groups and local community leaders or government officials on

the issues that affect young people, including child marriage.

OBILISING AND EDUCATING COMMUNITIES

Laws alone won’t end child marriage – in many instances legislation is not enforced as

many local authorities are reluctant to be seen as interfering in the private affairs of families. Many

are simply unaware of the scale of child marriage and the harmful impact it can have.

It is needed to raise awareness among communities of the impact of child marriage such as street

theatre, bicycle rallies, and encouraging community dialogue, which often results in a collective

community pledge to end child marriage.

C

I

S

M


27

RINGING MEN AND TRADITIONAL LEADERS ON BOARD

Religious and traditional leaders, too, can play a key role in speaking out against child

marriage and changing community attitudes. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken forcefully

on the need for men and boys, as well as religious and traditional leaders, to support efforts to end

child marriage.

If there is a will then there is a way we can bring down crime against women and children.

Girl Child- Future of India

Perseverance and inspiration often leads to privilege but without hard work and dedication they'll

be no success. The hardest profession to take in life is being a girl child. Discrimination and

discrepancy are two most important factors that hamper the journey of every female from the

earliest stage of life. Starting from her presence into her mother’s womb to infancy, childhood and

finally to adulthood, she is outnumbered by the male dominating society of the country.

India is a country where social disadvantage outweighs natural biological advantage of being a girl.

A whole range of discriminatory practices including female foeticide, female infanticide, female

genital mutilation, son idolization, early marriage and dowry have buried the future of the nation. In

India, discriminatory practices have greatly influenced the health and well-being of a girl child,

resulting in a higher mortality rate.

It is believed that every year 12 million girls are born in the country but unfortunately only 1/3 of

those survive. Some are killed in the womb, some at the time of birth, some die due to ill health and

some due to poor nutritional status. Only a few numbers of girls are able to survive till their 15th

birthday.

Female feticide and infanticide are the most popular social evils prevailing in the country. This evil

is the outcome of poverty, illiteracy and gender discrimination. The country fails to understand,

how a mother can be so ruthless and vulnerable.

It is said that God created mothers because He could not be present everywhere. It is unbelievable

to realize that a God’s representative is continuously killing someone beautiful even before she can

come out and see the beauty of nature.

It’s painful to confess that the trend still exists in various parts of the country. States like

Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are most popular for practicing female

foeticide and infanticide.

Poverty, gender discrimination and son preference have also influenced the nutritional status of a

girl child. There are almost 75 million malnourished children existing in the country. It is estimated

that 75% of the total malnourished children are girls who show signs of chronic and acute

B


28

malnutrition.

Girls who manage to cross this hard phase of life, gets trapped by the evil society during

adolescence and teenage. These are the stages where more nutrition is required for normal growth

and development. Unfortunately, nutritional needs are neglected for girls and they are often kept

locked within the four walls.

Exacerbate discrimination against female for nutrition and education has led to an increase in child

marriage, reduction in fertility rates and population growth, potentially, women’s participation in

nurturing the future of every nation.

Improper nutrition during adolescence results in various reproductive health disorders. The effects

of these disorders further exacerbates by early marriage, closely spaced pregnancies, poor access to

information about family planning, traditional practices, etc.

Girl child is the future of every nation and India is no exception. A little amount of care, a handful

of warmth and a heart full of love for a girl child can make a big difference. Close your eyes, free

your thoughts and hear the voice of God, He is saying something to all of us, “Save Me”.


29

THANK YOU

DEEPSHIKHA RANA

Girl Rights and Protection in India

Education

Transcript of Girl Rights and Protection in India