Sikar, Jhunjhunu shine in drive on girl child
BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO Girls appointed as brand ambassadors play key role to push the scheme, says collector
the 10 districts selected nationally for the effective implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme, Rajasthan’s Sikar has been picked for ‘effective community engagement’.
Among a number of initiatives taken to further the scheme, the most crucial, according to district collector Naresh Kumar Thakral, was the appointment of girls as brand ambassadors in each of the nine blocks of Sikar.
Sikar or Shiksha Nagri (Education City), around 100 km from state capital Jaipur, is known for educational institutions and coaching centres.
“Apart from appointing ambassadors, we introduced the eighth vow in marriages, requiring the couple to take a vow for not getting sex determination done or committing female feticide,” said the collector. He added that the people were encouraged to observe the girl child’s janmotsav (birth celebrations), which was earlier only celebrated on the birth of a boy child.
Shivani Sharma, a law student at a private university and brand ambassador in Sikar city, said, “Although most agreed for the eighth vow, there were many who refused. We could see the apprehension in their eyes.” Sharma went door to door with anganwadi workers and other volunteers to spread the message.
While campaigning for the protection of girl child, Sharma was faced with arguments ranging from girls’ safety to their alleged inability to be a supporting hand for parents.
“People said that the safety of girls is a big concern and those with girls are worried all the time. In addition, they’d say that girls go off to another house after marriage and it’s the boys who become a supporting hand and take care of them in their old age,” she said.
Religious concerns such as only the son can light the funeral pyre, something which is believed to be a a mandatory ritual for achieving moksha (salvation), also fuels the desire for a male child, she said.
“We dispel these religious concerns by telling them that it’s not written anywhere in the scriptures. We also quote from the Vedas that advocate education of girls,” she said. “
As far as the belief that only boys can be a supporting hand, we show them the clipping of a news report on the girl who had donated her kidney to her father.”
Sharma’s team also tells people that most of the occupants in old age homes have sons yet they are forced to live there, proving there is no connection between having sons and a secure old age.
Furthermore, the BBBP message was printed on sweet boxes, kites, wedding invites, and so on. The functions in schools and colleges held one or more performances, dance or play, on the BBBP theme.
SIKAR:Of