As part of our Meri Shakti Meri Beti project, which aims to stop sex selective activities, we formed the Community Watch Group (CWG) for Dabri project area at the Aganwadi Centre, on 10th May.

The CWG has been created so that vigil can be kept over the immediate society to help in curbing the declining sex ratio; ensure citizen participation in proper project implementation, to generate awareness at the grass root level about the negative consequences of female foeticide; and to increase awareness about the PCPNDT Act. CWG members have been selected from within the community, and include people from all age groups. They will counsel the high-risk families, newly-wed couples and parents of girl children.

The people present in the meeting were extremely enthusiastic, as they felt a sense of ownership at being involved in the project. They also expressed greater interest in the cause, after watching the “Satyamev Jayate” episode on female foeticide.

Through an animation film, role play, and a small talk on the provisions of the PCPNDT Act, the CSR team tried to provide a holistic perspective of sex selective activities. Efforts were made to sensitize the CWG regarding the declining sex ratio and to make them realize that they can make a difference in their immediate society, if they resist sex- selective abortions.

Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head of Research Division at CSR, voiced that women can play a catalystic role if they protect the rights of other women members of the family and respect each other. The CWG members were provided materials regarding sex selective activities, along with the contact details of people, who can be informed in the event of such activities taking place in the community.

The CWG members promised that they shall make all efforts to stop such sex selective activities in their community and shall contribute to the successful implementation of the ‘Meri Shakti Meri Beti’ project. The formation of CWG is considered important for the project as it requires that the citizens take charge of the social change, and ensure long term sustainability of the project.

By Ranjani Raghunathan, Intern – Media & Communication Division

Picture courtesy ' The Hindu '

On the 20th of March, CSR, along with the German Embassy, celebrates ‘Kanya Janm Mahotsav’, where 50 mothers of young girl children will be fecilitated, along with the launch of the Meri Shakti Meri Beti Phase-II project in the South-west districts of Delhi namely Delhi Cantonment (Vasant Kunj & Mahipalpur), Najafgarh ( Dabri & Dwaraka) and Vasant Vihar (Vasant Vihar & R.K. Puram).

Much has been written and debated about India’s skewed gender ratio. While the sex ratio has increased over the past twenty years (927 females to 1,000 males in 1991, 933 in 2001 and 940 in 2011), the rise is still minimal, and India still remains, by and large, a society which prefers male children over female ones. Female foeticide as a phenomenon, is a harsh reality, which persists across class and caste barriers. In fact, richer states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc. have lower sex ratio. The capital of India, Delhi, and its surrounding areas (the National Capital Territory) are subject to much scrutiny as this is where all government schemes regarding sex ratio and female foeticide are formulated and implemented first.

The following table is a compilation of Census data, and provides a snapshot of the sex ratio figures from 1991 to 2011. In addition to the overall sex ratio, the following table also provides figures for the 0-6 age bracket, which will enable further understanding of the present situation.

As the table shows, the sex ratios have improved considerably in the past twenty years. The Delhi NCT state average has gone up from 827 in 1991, to 866 in 2011. Although still a considerably low number than the national average, the increase is no doubt a positive sign. However, the sex ratios for the age group 0-6 years, are varied. The Delhi NCT state average for this age group has actually gone down from 868 in 2001, to 866 in 2011. Except for West Delhi, North West Delhi, North East Delhi and South-west Delhi, the sex ratios for the age group 0-6 years has actually reduced from 2001 to 2011. This is shocking, as while on one hand, literacy rates in the Delhi NCT are going up (from 81.67% in 2001 to 86.34% in 2011) and poverty rates are coming down, social norms are still dictating the society, and causing the deaths of numerous girl children in the mother’s womb. Female foeticide doesn’t just skew the sex ratio, but also causes a host of health problems for women, thus it is imperative that steps should be taken to prevent it.

Across the country, many steps are taken to increase awareness regarding the ill effects of female foeticide. Mrs. Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi, has lamented at the Delhi’s dismal sex ratio, and has mentioned the development of a ‘multi-pronged’ strategy to rectifiy this. In Maharashtra, the state government has appointed film actors Ajay Devgan and Kajol as brand ambassadors of its campaign to save the girl child. Numerous advertisements by various state ministries have been aired on television and radio, appealing to a mass audience to welcome the birth of daughters. Many documentaries and films have been produced on the phenomenon of female foeticide, the most prominent of them being ‘Matrubhoomi’, a critically acclaimed and award winning movie by Manish Jha.

While at the outset, it seems as if these measures are yielding no positive results for Delhi NCT, it needs to be understood that stronger actions need to be taken in order to have a balanced sex ratio in India, and in Delhi particularly. Rectifying the skewed sex ratio is an important step in India’s progress, and it is high time the citizens realize this.

On April 25 and 26, members of our research team, including Head of Research Dr. Manasi Mishra, were invited to participate at key speakers at the second Beti Bachao (Save the Girl Child) conference in Panipat, Haryana state. Beti Bachao was founded last year in Ambala by activists from 14 Indian states and meets annually to strengthen the campaign.

Organised by the Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) and Asha Parivar, the conference was jointly inaugurated by Chaudhary Virendar Singh, General Secretary of All India Congress Committee; Manimala, social activist and writer; Veena Behen from Gandhi Global Family; and eminent Pakistani peace activist Saeeda Deep. More than seven hundred people from across India participated in the conference.

By Michelle Tan, Intern – Research Department.

Dressed in a plain brown Saree, a 44-year-old woman from a remote rural village in Ambala (Haryana state) peered at us curiously when we knocked on the broken, rusty gates of her house. “Namaste,” my colleague Amrita said. “We are from Centre for Social Research and would like to conduct a quick survey with you. Can we come in?” The woman nodded her head shyly, smiled at us and then excitedly beckoned us into the front yard of her house.

To say that she lived in a “house” might be somewhat of a misnomer, especially since her “house” was in fact really a shed, and there were half-laid stones and bricks strewn everywhere. The walls were Grey and incomplete, and construction had obviously long been in progress. We sat down on the only piece of furniture to begin what we had initially imagined would be a typical conversation on female foeticide—or, as typical as a conversation on female foeticide could be. What we didn’t expect was that our host would so warmly and immediately open up to us, revealing her most personal experiences of sexs election, discrimination and the ordeal she went through when standing up against it.

Already a mother of one boy and two girls, our host was pregnant for the fourth time when her in-laws and husband found out from a sonogram that she was once again expecting a girl child. Angered by the news, the family adamantly insisted that she should undergo an abortion. They, like so many in India, believed that a girl child was a waste of family resources. A girl, they argued, was of no particular value and as a result of dowry, she would also be impossibly expensive. But unlike many mothers who silently suffered, our host was strong-willed and refused to give up her child or undergo an abortion. She was henceforth disgraced and expelled from her family, slammed in the face with a quick divorce. Shamed by the scandals of their daughter, her parents put her up for a second arranged marriage. She married again, but her husband died young in the Indian army, and she became a widow. At the moment, she continues to bravely and independently support four young children on her own—an incredibly rare, brave and admirable feat especially in rural India.

We left that day, humbled and in awe of this incredibly strong woman. Her story serves as a painful and grave reminder that female foeticide, for all its supposed allegations and denials, is still a real and pervasive reality in much of Indian society today. Her story reminds us that women who transgress from the norm and elect to stand up against their family to save a female fetus risk losing their livelihoods, if not their lives. Her story stands out not only because she was empowered in spite of lacking a formal education or any privileges whatsoever, but also because she spoke with no complaint and no expectations of sympathy. That’s where she stands victorious: because this one woman in her plain brown Saree does not see herself as an object of pity, but as a woman in her totality who can and will get her due in her own right.

View more photos from the April 5-7 baseline study in Ambala at Centre for Social Research’s Flickr account.

Yesterday, our Research team held a Community Watch Group meeting as part of our Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project at the anganwaadi (daycare) centre in the Manav Chowk and Kotwali Sarai areas of Ambala, Haryana.The meeting brought together over 30 women from the local community as well as young girls and boys.

Major issues discussed included the need for educating boys and girls so that they know more about their rights and duties as community and family members. Many women called for recruiting more men to Community Watch Group meetings to enlist their help in spreading awareness about pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide) and the need for equality between genders.

Community Watch Groups meetings are an important part of our team’s work on violence against women, female foeticide and overall efforts to promote gender equality. They represent an important opportunity to interact with local communities and share ideas on how best to move forward on these issues.

The second Interface workshop under our comprehensive Meri Shakti Meri Beti project was held at the Panchayat Bhawan of Kurukshetra, Haryana state on March 4, with thanks to our funders: WomenPowerConnect and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Bahari Mohalla(community) residents of all ages attended the meeting with aaganwadi (daycare) and ASHA workers, and students from Kurukshetra University and the Kurukshetra College of Education. The designated “Expert Group” included Dr. Sushma Saini, Chief Medical Officer, and Ms. Deepshikha Kaushik, Domestic Violence Officer.

Initiating the workshop, our own Dr. Manasi Mishra spoke about the wider social and economic implications of pre-natal sex selection (female foeticide). To successfully address pre-natal sex selection, the status of women must increase by changing the deeply patriarchal mindset in communities and families. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saini pointed out that ultrasound technology was invented to assist medical treatment and not to perpetuate a social malice like female foeticide. Other speakers, including members of the local community, spoke about the high cases of domestic violence in parts of Haryana and the importance of taking more responsibility to care for girl children.

To date, the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project to reduce pre-natal sex selection has organised over 40 Community Outreach Programs, nine Community Watch Group meetings, two Expert Group meetings and one Interface Workshop in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana state.

To view more photos from event, visit Center for Social Research’s Flickr account.

Continuing in our efforts to fight female foeticide, our Research department led an Expert Group Meeting in Kurushetra, Haryana as part of the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project last week. We were honoured that our meeting was attended by both local community members and figures from the local medical community, including the Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Hospital, Kurukshetra Dr. Sushma Saini; PC/PNDT Officer Dr. K.K.Sharma; Family Welfare Officer Dr. Madhu Sharma; and the Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr. Lajya Ram.

The main purpose of the meeting was to look into how ultrasound machines are actually registered, and how portable machines are being used and transported. We also discussed the follow-up of two long-pending legal cases, heard community members’ concerns about 3 new area clinics, and talked about the level of awareness amongst doctors to combat pre-natal sex selection.

Dr. Manasi Mishra, our Head of Research and the Meri Shakti, Meri Beti project coordinator, also highlighted some of the recent initiatives by the Haryana government in fighting female foeticide. They have introduced cash rewards of Rs. 5 lakhs, 3 lakhs and 1 lakh ($11,200, $6,700 and $2,235 USS) for best sex ratio state districts. Additionally, informers who can provide information relating to illegal practises will receive a Rs. 5,000 ($110 USD) reward. However, some argued that the prize money awarded from the government is much too meagre, and no one will ever risk his life for it.

Overall, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity for medical professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the problem of female foeticide: It’s heartening to be able to join forces with committed medical professionals who are as determined to end this practise as we are.