"Completion of Ten years, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign: Transforming Gender Equality and Empowering the Girl Child in India",

 

     

"Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: Transforming Gender Equality and Empowering the Girl Child in India", 

We should make "Beta Beti, Ek Samaan" our mantra. "Let's rejoice in the girl child's birth. We ought to feel just as proud of our daughters. When your daughter is born, I strongly advise you to rejoice by planting five plants. -Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the people of Jayapur, his adoptive hamlet. On January 22, 2015, the Prime Minister launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) in Panipat, Haryana. The falling Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and associated concerns about women's empowerment are addressed by BBBP across a range of life stages. The Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare, and Human Resource Development are involved in this tri-ministerial endeavor.The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) program was launched by the Indian government in 2015 in an effort to empower women and solve issues of gender discrimination in the nation. "Save the girl child, educate the girl child" is the literal translation of the name Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The program seeks to increase the effectiveness of welfare services for girls and educate the public against gender bias. An initial investment of Rs. 100 crore (US$ 13.5 million) was used to launch it.The program was started in response to the 2011 national census findings, which showed a decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), two important gender indicators. The number of females per 1,000 boys between the ages of 0 and 6 is known as CSR. From 945 in 1999 to 927 in 2001 and then to 918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011, this ratio showed a consistent downward trend. A thorough analysis of the drop revealed that SRB was the main contributing factor. A decline in these ratios is a strong symptom of gender discrimination and women's disempowerment, representing both prenatal discrimination through sex-selective, gender-biased abortion and postnatal discrimination by ignoring the girl child's nutritional, educational, and health needs.Enforcement of the PC & PNDT Act, a nationwide information and advocacy campaign, and multi-sectoral action in a chosen 100 districts with poor CSR are the scheme's main components. A lot of focus is placed on changing people's mindsets through community mobilization, training, sensitization, and awareness-raising. The NDA government is attempting to change the way our culture views girls in a profound way. In his Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi praised the Sarpanch of Bibipur, Haryana, for initiating the "Selfie With Daughter" campaign. Additionally, the PM encouraged people to send their daughters selfies, which quickly gained international popularity.Nearly every state has operationalized multi-sectoral District Action Plans since the start of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. To further develop the capacities of frontline workers and district level officials, trainers have received training and capacity-building programs. Between April and October of 2015, the Ministry of Women & Child Development organized nine sets of these trainings that covered all States and UTs.The Pithoragarh district has taken a number of actions under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme to safeguard the girl child and make her education possible. Goals The following objectives are the focus of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana: Boost the ratio of children to adults Assure women's empowerment and gender equality. Prevent sex-selective, gender-biased exclusion Make sure the girl child survives and is protected. Encourage girls' engagement and education. All things considered, these fall into two main groups: quantitative and qualitative. The country's declining child-to-sex ratio is the quantitative goal, and raising awareness and altering unfavorable perceptions of female children is the qualitative goal.The Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW), and Ministry of Human Resources Development (MoHRD) collaborate to administer the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana, a nationwide program. Different facets of the plan are the responsibility of each body. The MoWCD is responsible for overseeing and managing the BBBP's budget. However, the MoH&FW is in charge of quality assurance and capacity building. Programs for community participation have been funded by the MoHRD.Both the Block Task Force and the District Task Force have been established. Clear road maps pertaining to the child sex ratio have been prepared, and meetings of these forums have been organized.The program consists of three parts: (1) advocacy campaigns were started to address the issue of declining CSR and SBR; (2) multi-sectoral interventions were planned and are being carried out in districts that are crucial for gender equality throughout the nation; and (3) the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, a financial incentive-linked program, was introduced to encourage parents to establish a fund for their female children. Campaign for Advocacy and Media The BBBP system is based on national awareness efforts. In order to educate parents and de-stigmatize the birth of female children, it employs a diversified media strategy.In order to guarantee that girls are born, raised, and educated without discrimination, the advocacy campaigns concentrate on spreading knowledge about the falling CSR and SRB ratios. The objective is to create a national culture that values the upbringing of strong, independent women. Intervention in districts with a gender criticality The gender-critical districts that made the short list are implementing programs and initiatives aimed at providing incentives for improvements in the CSR and SRB ratios. The plan specifies quantifiable results and metrics to track development in these 640 districts. The following are the performance goals:Increase SRB by two points annually in a few districts that are crucial for gender. Cut the gender gap in the measure for the under-five child mortality rate by 1.5 percentage points annually. In certain districts, provide girls with functional restrooms in all schools. Increase antenatal care registration for the first trimester by 1% annually. Reduce the number of underweight and anemic girls (those under five) to improve nutritional status.Scheme for Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) A tiny deposit-saving plan called SSY is aimed at parents of girls. The program offers parents an alluring interest rate of 7.6% on their savings in addition to income tax rebate benefits. It gives parents the choice to start a savings account for each girl child (under ten years old) and permits them to deposit money into the account for a maximum of fifteen years. When the girls are ten years old, they can start using their accounts, and when they are eighteen, they can choose to take money out. This program aims to provide financial stability to female offspring and combat the burden mentality of parents.Allocation of the Budget and Highlights The government has so far set out Rs. 740 crore, or US$92 million, for the BBBP program. 54.2% of the budget, or Rs. 401 crore (US$ 50 million), was allocated to awareness media initiatives. Activities aimed at raising awareness of the Scheme have been conducted in an effort to reach the community as a whole. Numerous rallies have been held, with the participation of government department employees, Army schools, and other educational institutions.In Pithoragarh, street plays are also being held to raise awareness of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. To raise awareness among a wider audience, these street plays are staged at markets in addition to the villages. People are becoming more aware of the issues surrounding sex-selective abortion through the use of story visualization. These street plays do a great job of portraying issues pertaining to the girl child and the various challenges she encounters throughout her childhood. The BBBP message has been disseminated to 700 PG college students and a number of Army personnel through a Signature Campaign, Pledge, and Oath Ceremony.Punjab's Mansa district has started a campaign to encourage its girls to pursue higher education. Girls from schools VI–XII are invited to submit suggestions under the Mansa administration's "Udaan – Sapneya Di Duniya De Rubaru" program (Udaan-Live your Dream For One Day). These ladies have the chance to spend a day with a professional they want to be, such as an engineer, doctor, police officer, IAS officer, or PPS officer. Over 70 students have already had the opportunity to spend a day with a professional and observe how they operate in a professional setting, which has helped them make better decisions regarding their future career choice. The program has gotten a lot of positive feedback.The BBBP effort was launched as a result of research that found the problem's primary cause to be a strong sociocultural and religious preference for boys.The BBBP program has improved key performance metrics specified in its aim objectives throughout the first ten years of implementation. The government intends to conduct a thorough district-level survey to assess progress and identify implementation barriers in order to further increase the program's success. An independent organization working with Niti Aayog will conduct the survey. This survey's main objective is to identify strategies for improving the scheme's implementation in states with poor performance.