HISTORY OF GIRL PROSTITUTION

There is no specific information available with regard to history of girl child

prostitution, although there is abundant literature on history of prostitution in
general. This is probably because concern on issue of girl child prostitution has
been recent. There might be another reason. Since age if the prostitute is of
much importance it is reasonable to assume that even in earlier times these
factors encouraging early entry of girl children into prostitution into its varied
forms. These factors were

Sociocultural

Broken family, Ill treatment by the family, Family members involved in

prostitution, Pressure from parents, Inability of the family to marry the
daughter, Early marriage and its break-up, Bad company, Lack of sex
education, Physical attractions.

Economic

These are connected with absence of livelihood and improper living conditions
example

Unemployment, Poverty and resourcelessness, Desire to earn quick money,

Bondage and harassment by the employer, Displacement

Psychological

Desire for physical pleasure, Increasing craze for money, Fun and pleasure,
Family’s dependence on their daughter’s income, Desire to benefit by
providing sexual favours.

Others like legal, administrative etc.

 SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND

A good number of girl prostitutes in India are from countries (Nepal and
Bangladesh) other than India. They mainly operate in cities that too in metro-
cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, etc. Presence of girl prostitutes from Nepal
and Bangladesh can be attributed to prevailing abject poverty and ignorance in
both these countries. In response to a question as to why they have come to
India, one girl prostitute of Nepal origin practicing in Delhi said, "In our
country, it is not easy to get employment. Our economic situation is very bad.
It is not easy even to get two square meals a day, as a result many people come
to India in search of some employment, income and other opportunities. I too
came for the same purpose."

The girl child prostitutes are mainly from both rural areas and urban slums.
Studies and discussion indicate that there are about 146 districts spread over 17
states, which are stated to have girl child prostitutes, girl prostitutes from many
of these districts are found in metro-cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi and
several other areas. These districts can be viewed as prone districts in terms of
operation and origin of the girl child prostitutes. Characteristic features of
these districts / areas are :

1. They are either drought-prone, or flood prone or backward or industrially

developed leading to lot of male migration;

2. Scheduled castes / tribes and backward castes population comprise a

significant proportion of population of many of these districts;

3. Many of the have comparatively low literacy rate, especially of women

Sex-ratio is also low;

4. Many of them have comparative low employment potentialities and per-

capita income;
5. They have either low level of development infrastructure and or non-
functional development infrastructure; and

6. They have comparatively less number of voluntary agencies.

About the background of girl prostitutes in terms of religion, based on

available information, it can be said that they are overwhelmingly Hindus
(35%). Muslims come next in terms of number. This is largely due to the
prevailing socio-economic backwardness of the community, combined with the
practice of polygamy. Christians, Buddhists, Jains together constitute a small
portion of the total girl prostitutes, however, their number is comparatively less
in comparison to their representation in the total in the total population.

The Hindu girl prostitutes are mainly from the Scheduled Castes, Tribes and
other backward castes. As per available information, they comprise about there
fourth of the total girl prostitutes. This in other words indicate that the girl
prostitutes basically belong to lower rank of the caste and social hierarchy. It is
interesting to note that there are certain castes and tribes which either
traditionally accept prostitution in forms or are gradually succumbing to the
pressure to work as prostitute due to loss of livelihood, and lure of easy money
or among whom sexual laxity has been considered as a traditional phenomena.
These include :

Nats,RajNats,,Bhil,
(Gometi),Banjaras,Chamars,Jatavs,Dommara,Doms,Dowari,Dehredars,Dohli,G
andharvas,Haburia,Kanjars,Koltas,Kurmi,Naik,Mali,Mahars,Mang,Munda
/Samthal,Orai

A brief description of some of these caste /tribes groups is given to have better
understanding about them and the girls vulnerability to prostitution due to
traditional acceptance of the profession:
Nut : They are found mainly scattered all over north western provinces and
Oudh and also in scattered forms in some districts of Rajasthan. Despite
several changes, occupation of their women is singing and dancing, acrobatics
and prostitution. A girl on attaining puberty is given the option between
marriage, acrobatics, singing and dancing and prostitution. If she opts for the
latter, she is presented before the caste council for their consent. Then the girl
is formally declared as prostitute and the occasion is celebrated with feasts.
Some of them also indulge in way-side prostitution.

Bedias / Berias - They are found in Uttar Pradesh (Agra, Kanpur, Etah,
Etawah, Manipur, Fatehpur, Banda, Lalitpur and Barabanki) and in some parts
of Rajasthan (Dholpur, Bharatpur) and Madhya Pradesh. Among the Bedias, it
is almost understood that the girls of the community will join prostitution. It is
not a question of giving them any option to choose between marriage and
prostitution. Their formal entry into the trade is marked by the 'Nath-Utarna'
ceremony. Bedias also obtain girls from other communities and introduce
them into prostitution. They openly talk of such involvement, without any
sense of guilt.

Bhartu & Habura - They are basically found in Uttar Pradesh and belong to
criminal communities where men are engaged in petty crimes and women in
illicit liquor making and prostitution. The castes occupation provides a
favorable environment for practice of prostitution.

Dehredar - They are found mainly in U.P. among them singing, dancing and
prostitution are accepted occupations. Dehredars are considered to be
descendants of the courtesans of the Mughal court and the tradition of singing
and dancing has been well preserved in these families. A Dehredar girl's entry
into trade is celebrated as 'Missi' ceremony.
Gandharva - They are found in U.P. and in some other states. This is a caste
of singers and prostitutes. The community selects beautiful girls with some
flair for music for prostitution. Once a girl takes to prostitution, she is not
allowed to marry and then who do not opt for prostitution, marry within the
community.

Kanajars--It is a wandering community found in M.P., Rajasthan, and U.P

mainly. They are engaged in singing, dancing and prostitution.

It is interesting to note that there is no uniformity in the caste-wise

distribution of girl prostitutes in the cities, Madras, for example uhas a very
high Scheduled Caste representation, while Bombay has a very low Scheduled
Caste representation.

The overwhelming majority of girl prostitutes (about 80 per cent) along to

below 13 to 18 years age group. Consequently, it can be said at it is a
phenomena of 'Teenage Prostitution' within the category/spectrum of girl child
prostitution. There are multiple reasons for increasing demand for girl
prostitutes. These includes :

1. Physical attraction.

2. Fear of diseases like AIDS;

3. Greater sensation;

4. Prevailing perception that sex with girl child provides strength;

5. Larger duration of stay in the profession resulting in greater income;

6. Easily lured in the name of marriage/employment;

7. Easily suppressed and manipulated; and

 8. Cultural support

Explaining the reasons for greater demand for young girls, one of the pimps of
Udaipur said, "men, particularly the middle aged ones, prefer young girls
because they feel that sex with young girls will keep them young.

Based on the information available about the marital status of prostitute, it can
be said that the overwhelming majority of the girl prostitutes (over about two
third) are unmarried. This can be explained on the ground of greater demand of
girls who uare virgin and have greater physical attraction. The married girl
prostitutes that these girls frequently go for abortion both voluntarily and
involuntary to avoid having dependents, which can be a hindrance to the
practice of the profession.

While the literacy rate of the girl prostitutes, in comparison to female

prostitutes is higher, it is still very low in comparison to total literacy rate
among women. The literacy rate among the girl prostitutes ranges between 3
per cent and 10 per cent, as per available information. The girl prostitutes
basically lack functional skills, which could contribute to their self-
employment except some functional skills in tailoring etc. which have been
acquired mainly through family contracts.

The girl prostitutes are basically drawn from families which are resourceless
and poor. The overwhelming majority of these families live in perpetual debt.
These contribute both to their entry into prostitution as well as to their
continuance in prostitution.

In many cases, it has been seen, that they perceive their family members as
responsible for their entry into prostitution. One young girl prostitute, who was
sold by her family members (uncle), to a trafficker-giving vent to feelings said
"my 'mama' was just like Kansa mama of lord Krishna. If I am able to get out
of this trade, I shall see he pays for his action."
 GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

BRINGING EQUITY TO THE STATUS OF SEXES

UNICEF's strategy of meeting the needs of the whole child inevitably requires
equipping the mother to shape the child's immediate environment. The
demands of equity too dictate that women - and not just mothers - who have
long been disadvantaged in almost every walk of life, get better opportunities.

Indeed, gender disparities have been identified as being among the key
concerns to be addressed in the current Master Plan of Operations with India.
While the recent 73 rd and 74 th Constitutional Amendments have attracted
UNICEF attention in view of the increased role of women in local government
UNICEF has also advocated for the promotion of legal literacy for women and
actions to counter the scourges of female foeticide, infanticide and early
marriage.

UNICEF is also the major supporter of the Development of Women and

Children in Rural Areas programme, which provides credit and skills training
to over 60,000 groups of poor rural women. Women form groups of 10-15
members each to take up income-generating activities. They have access to
credit, while awareness-generation and skill training programmes encourage
the women to be confident and self-reliant.

While the sectoral programmes of health, nutrition, education, water and

sanitation aim at improving the conditions under which girls and women are
living, UNICEF is also turning increasingly to consideration relation of the
position of women in society. This would more clearly address the underlying
causes of women's powerlessness and the discrimination they experience in
their daily lives.
 GIRL CHILD IN INDIA

The "Girl Child" in India, who embodies both children and adolescents and
constitutes more than a quarter of the country's population, is considered the
"Lesser Child".

Although the principle of gender equality and gender equity is basic to Indian
thinking, girls in our country are still deprived of equal opportunities for
survival and development and unfortunately, this begins early in life or rather
before birth. In terms of Gender Development Index, India ranks 99 among the
130 countries included in the Index (UNDP 1995).

Girl Child in India, is subjected to 'Inequality', 'disparity' and 'Neglect'. Gender

based inequalities permeate the very fabric of the social and cultural
environment and the value system. She has lesser entitlement to health care,
nutrition, education and even parental attention.

Born into indifference and reared on neglect, the girl child is caught in a web
of cultural practices and prejudices that hamper her development, both
physically and mentally. In India, for a Girl Child the period from infancy to
adolescence in a perilous path. In this socially inhospitable environment of
patriarchal and male dominated society, a girl is considered to be someone,
who will never contribute to the family income and who at marriage will take a
large portion of family assets as dowry.

The Girl Child's role is circumscribed around marriage and motherhood.

Sibling care become her responsibility from the age when she is not old enough
to even take care of herself. Deprived of her childhood and compelled into
early marriage and child bearing, the Girl Child grows into an adult, who has
not grown fully to her genetic potential, and thus continues the vicicious cycle
of undernutrition, disease and poor health.
Who is a Girl Child?

The legal definition of the Girl Child varies depending upon the purpose.

In India, a person below 14 years is considered a child.

As per Article 1 of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Girl and boys
below 18 years of age are considered as children.

"….a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years, unless
under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier".

The Government of India is adopting this definition, wherever it is feasible and

practical, so that the rights of girl child are protected under all circumstances.

Definition of Girl Child in Various Laws and Acts

Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 Girls <18 years

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 Girls <18 years

Labour Laws Girls & Boys < 14 years

Child Labour Act Girl & Boys < 14 years

Section 375 (Indian Penal Code) Critical age of wife is 15 years
Section 376 (Indian Penal Code) Wife below 12 years

Existing Support System for Survival and Development of the Girl Child

Government Machinery
Department of Women and Child Development, Department of Education,
Department of Family Welfare, Ministry of Labour , Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Voluntary Sector

A large number of Voluntary Organizations implementing government schemes

and programmes

Legislation: A number of acts at central and state levels

Schemes and Programmes

• Balika Samriddhi Yojana

• Adolescent Girls Scheme

• Integrated Child Development Services Programmes

• District Primary Education Programme

• Reproductive Child Health Programme

Constitutional Provisions

Article 14 "equal rights and opportunities to men and women…"

Article 15 "…prohibits discrimination on any ground…"

"…renounce the practice derogatory to women's…"

"…right to means of livelihood to men and women…"

"…equal pay for equal work…."

Article 24 "…No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed
 to work….in any other hazardous employment…."

Article 39 "…the tender age of children are not abused…." "…to enter
avocations unsuited to their age of strength…."

Article 42 "….provision for just and human conditions of work and

maternity relief…."

Article 73&74 "….participation of women in the political and grassroots

development process…"

Policies

National Policy for Children(1974),National Health Policy for

Children( 1983),National Policy on Education(1986),National Child Labour
Policy(1987),National Plan of Action for Children(1992),National Nutrition
Policy(1993),Communication Strategy for Child Development(1996),National
Plan of Action for the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child(1991-2000).

Convention & Rights

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child "….State Parties shall respect and
ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child….
Irrespective of the child's sex…." Article 2, CRC, 1990

UN Convention for Elimination of Discrimination Against Women"….any

distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex, which has the
purpose or effect of denying equal exercise of human rights and freedom in all
fields of human endeavor…" Article 1, CEDAW, 1992

National Programmes for the Development of the Girl Child

Balika Samriddhi Yojana

Balika Samriddhi Yojana a scheme to raise the status of the girl child was
launched on 15 th August 1997 to give financial help to families below the
poverty line in which a girl child was born, or after 15 th August 1997. Under
the scheme, a grant or Rs. 500/- is given to the mother of a newborn girl child,
and an amount of Rs. 4522 is invested in a postal financial instrument for
education of the girl child and to make her economically independent. Last
year, 12 lakh girls benefited from the scheme.

Adolescent Girl Scheme

Adolescent Girl scheme provides family life education to school dropouts and
attempts to raise their health and nutritional cycle. It also imparts skills to
enable the girl child to take up useful economic activities later in her life. The
Scheme comprises two sub schemes i.e. Girl to Girl Approach for adolescent
girl in the age group of 11-15 years and Balika Mandal to reach adolescent
girls in the age group of 11-18 years. So far, about 4 lakh adolescent girls have
been provided services under the scheme.

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

ICDS Programme of the Department of Women & Child Development, started

in 1975 has emerged as the world's largest early childhood development
programme, reaching out to 3.8 million expectant women and nursing mothers
and 21 million children under six years of age from the disadvantaged sections
of society through 4200 ICDS projects. Of these, 12 million children in the age
group of 3-6 years age enrolled in about 6 lakh anganwadis.

The scheme delivers an integrated package of six services. During the year
1997, the Government of India spent Rs. 750/- crores on implementation of the
Programme.
The programme has come to be regarded as the most viable vehicle for
achieving the goals set in the National Plan of Action for Children. The Plan
gives special emphasis on development of the Girl Child and Adolescent Girls.

Objectives of ICDS programme

• Improve the nutritional and health status of children below the age of six
years.

• Lay the foundation for the proper psychological, physical and social
development of the child.

• Reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school

dropouts.

• Achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation among

various departments to promote child development.

• Enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and
nutritional needs of the child, through proper health and nutrition
education.

District Primary Education Programme

The District Primary Educational Programme of the Department of Education

is centrally sponsored programme, providing special thrust to Universalisation
of Primary Education. Specific strategies have been designed in the programme
to enhance girls' access, enrolment and retention in the school system.

At present, 149 districts in 14 states are being covered under the scheme.

STATUS OF GIRL CHILD IN INDIA

Girl child in India is a part of the society, which idolizes sons and where
female foeticide and infanticide prevails, along with a whole range of
discriminatory practices. From the very beginning, girls are made to accept the
norms of patriarchal and male dominated society and they grow up accepting
themselves to be inferior to boys.

Although, the girl child has a natural biological advantage over the boy, yet in
India social disadvantage outweighs the genetic advantage of girls.
Demographic trends indicate the deep-rooted gender discrimination.

Population growth : Supportive of gender discrimination

As per the 1991 census, out of 402.8 million women there were 153.85 million
girls in the age group 0-14 yeas. Approximately more than a quarter of India's
population comprises of girls upto the age of 19 years. During 1981-91,
comparatively the female population grew at a slower pace (21.77%) than male
population (22.40%). Similar trends were also observed in girl child
population.

Sex Ratio : Unfavorable to women-Sex ratio for girls has been deteriorating
from decade to decade in the 20 th century. From 972 in 1901, it has come down
to 929 in 1991.

As per the 1991 Census, there are 31.3 million more men than women in the
country. At each age level, there is a large number of "Missing Girls" i.e.
comparatively less number of girls than boys.

The main reason for negative sex ratio for girls is the higher female mortality
at all age levels.Sex Ratio is most unfavorable to girls in the states of Tamil
Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.

Missing Girls (1991 Census)

0-6 years 4.00 million

0-14 years 7.80 million

0-19 years 13.34 million

Sex ratio has been negative for girls at all age levels

Causes of Adverse sex ratio for girls

Son preference,Higher female mortality at all age groups ,Illiteracy, Poverty

Deprivation of female child from nutritional, health and medical care,

Malnutrition, Traditional beliefs and cultural values

Girls Child Marriage - Physical 'Wastage' of girls

Mean age at marriage has been increasing steadily, and at present it is 20 years
for female and 25 years for males.

Age at marriage for rural girls is very low due to the value system, beliefs and
social problems. During 1992-93, 39% of girls between 15-19 yeas were
married and in the age group of 20-24 yeas more than 50% of women were
married before 18 years of age (NFHS - National Family Health Survey, 1992).

Early marriage and early pregnancies are resulting in physical wastage, birth
complications and low birth-weight babies having poor survival rate. During
1996. There has been s substantial increase in the incidence of cases reported
under the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

Educational status - Environment for Disempowerment of girls

Little girls face the debilitating discrimination of all - few chances of attaining
any education. Either girls are not sent to school or at an early age their
education is discontinued.

In India, very conspicuous gender disparities persist in all the educational

indicators, especially in regard to enrolment and retention at the primary, upper
primary and higher school education. The situation is much worse in rural and
tribal areas due to social attitudes, poor access to education, and family
oriented role and responsibilities of the girl child.

Educating a boy is educating an individual but educating a girl is

educating a family

As per the 1991 census, literacy rates have more than doubled from 24% in
1961 52% in 1991 and female literacy has gone up five times I.e, increased
from 8.86% in 1951 to 39.29% in 1991. Still there are 60 million more
illiterates in the country than there were in 1961. About 60.8% of the female
population is illiterates; and over two third of this population lives in rural
areas. Rural-urban difference in female literacy have further increased.

Girls form more than half of illiterate children in the age group of 5-9 years.
Although, girls' enrolment at various levels of school education has improved
appreciably, girls account for only 43.2% of enrolment at the primary state and
39% at the upper primary stage.

Performance Gaps in Education Indicators

Education Existing Levels (Year) Expected Levels

Indicator by 2000 AD

Literacy Rate (M) 64.2 Education for All

(F) 39.19
 (T) 52.19 Adult literacy rate
of 80% (1991) in
the age group of
15-35 years.

Enrolment

Primary (in (M) 62.5 100%

million)

(F) 47.8

(T) 110.3

(1996-97)

Dropout (M) 39.37% 20%

Rate (F) 38.35%

Performance Gaps in Health Indicators

Health Indicator Existing Levels (Year) Expected Levels by 2000

AD

Infant Mortality Rate 72(1996) Below 60

Crude Death Rate 8.9(1996) 9.0

Age Specific Death Rate

Children 0-4 Yrs.(%) Reduction by 50% in

M 23.6 (1994)
deaths to diarrhoea

F 24.2 (1994)

Children 5-14 Yrs. (%) M 1.6 (1994)

The incidence of dropout and stagnation for girls is much higher than that of
boys at primary and upper-primary stage. It is estimated, that for every 10 girls
who enter class I, only 6 reach class V or nearly 1/3 of girls who manage to
enter class I dropout before entering class II.

Access to education continues to be a major problem, especially for rural girls.

Female literacy is closed associated with education in fertility rates, population
growth, IMR and U5-MR; and shows positive association with age at marriage,
life expectancy, enrolment, women's participation in development process, etc.

Health Care

Deliberate Discrimination of Girls

Sex-bias in health care prevails in the country, which accounts for higher
female mortality and poor girl child survival. Studies indicate that girls do not
receive timely and adequate health care. And, when they are treated, it is
generally by a traditional healer or are taken to a hospital at a late stage of
illness, when chances of survival are reduced. Fewer resources are invested on
girl's health-expenditure on treatment of girls is less than half of that of boys.

Reproductive health of adolescent girls continue to be endangered by early

marriage, closely spaced pregnancies, lack of knowledge, poor access to
information about family planning, poor nutritional status, poverty, traditional
practices, etc.

Girl Child in Difficult Circumstances

Girl child in especially difficult circumstances is thrice disadvantaged account
of poverty, minority status and gender.

Girls at Work

As per the 1991 Census, out of 11.28 million child labour, 3.42 million girls
under 14 years of age were main workers and 1.68 million were marginal
workers.

In India, much of the young girls' work is invisible, remains unrecognized and
undervalued. A large number of girls are mostly engage in unorganized sector.
In rural areas, a majority of girls are unskilled and low paid workers. Nearly
50% of female child workers in urban areas are engaged in household industry

The Girl Child is either burdened with household responsibilities and sibling
care or is engaged as child labourer. She is deprived of joys of childhood,
misses out on schooling, and lacks capabilities for economic participation

Crime Against Girl Child

As per Crime in India 1996, during the year, incidence of child rape
increased and the share of child rape victims to total rape victims was 27.5%.
Also, there has been increase in the incidence of buying girls for prostitution
(22%), foeticide (39%) and child marriages (89%).

Juvenile Delinquency

As per Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, girls below 18 years as offenders are
considered juveniles. Juvenile crime has declined in India and during 1995-96
the share of juvenile crime to total crime was 0.6%. However, there has been
increase in the number of girls apprehended. Girls in the age group of 12-16
years have been found to be more susceptible to crimes. The proportion of girls
apprehended as juveniles reached 26.3% in 1996, the highest in the last six
years.

Trafficking of Girls

Global trafficking of children and women is considered to be more profitable

than arms or drugs smuggling. Out of nearly 9 lakh prostitutes in the country,
about 4 lakh are children below 14 years. Commercial child prostitution is
increasing at the rate of 8-10% per annum and these children earn Rs. 11,000
crore annually (Study by Centre for Child Labour, 1998).

Child Prostitution in Traditional Forms

• 50% of all prostitutes in Maharashtra began as 'Devadasis' and girls from

Devadasi account for 20% of total girls in child prostitution.

• Some castes in India have traditionally accepted prostitution as their

profession. These are Rajnat tribe in Rajasthan, Dehrhar community, Bedias
and Kanjars community.

The causes of trafficking of girls are poverty; limited economic

opportunities/unemployment; kidnapping, abduction and rape; disintegration of
rural and tribal communities; and forced prostitution. Reasons for children
being forced into prostitution also include pedophilia and obscure beliefs like
"Sex with virgin as cure for STD".

Destitute
Destitute and abandoned girls among the street children and young girls in
urban slums are victims of exploitation and sexual abuse..

Girl Child -- A Burden

• Foeticide is a way to lessen the financial burden.

• Better kill a female foetus than give birth to an unwanted child.

• Better pay Rs. 500/- now than to pay Rs. 5,00,000/- and more later on as a
dowry.

• If a daughter is killed, the next child will be a son.

Girl Child Empowerment

With the declaration of 1990 as SAARC year of the Girl Child, long-ignored
issue concerning girls have emerged to the forefront. As a result, an empathetic
environment has been created for the Girl Child. During 1990s, gender equality
received top priority in all the commitments and programme interventions
concerning children at the national and international levels.

Empowerment of Girl Child Rests on Empowerment of Society.

The revolution for 'Girl Child Survival' that began in 1990s, is still on, as
there is much more to be done to mobilise political, cultural, administrative and
community resources to give Girl Child her rights. As the Girl Child is the
responsibility of all, her empowerment calls for partnership between all
concerned for building-up her capacity and providing her equal opportunities
for development. In this effort, the very moral fibre of the society which
considers girls as a liability has to be discarded.

Steps to be adopted for girl child empowerment are:

1. Adopt political and development policies to reduce gender disparities.

2. Empower community through advocacy and social mobilisation using

traditional and nontraditional media.

3. Review progress on the status of the girl child and revise time bound
goals & objectives.

4. Strengthen Program Delivery System and improve reach and utilization

of services to meet health, nutrition and educational needs of the girl child
at all levels.

5. Accord girl child her rights.

6. Formulate a plan to counteract negative image of the girl child an

existing beliefs and practices.

7. Free the girl child from household responsibilities and sibling care.

8. Promote research on the girl child.

9. Set up decentralised monitoring and evaluation system.

10. Undertake information search and set up Data Base on girl child.

11. Set up a Network with voluntary organisations.

12. Mobilize Resources for the cause of the girl child.

Girl Child - the woman of tomorrow - is the nation's asset and pivot for
humankind. Give her opportunities to develop, as her development is the
development of the society and the nation.

The Vision

Girl of Today - Woman of Tomorrow

A Girl, buoyant with joy and happiness, standing with confidence at the
threshold of adulthood, as a decision-maker and at par with boys, in a
society which considers her an asset and gives her the freedom of making
her own destiny.
FEMALE EDUCATION

Female literacy is considered to be one of the most sensitive indices of social

development. The education of girls is a worthy objective in itself and needs no

further justification. Nonetheless, the "second order" effects of female literacy

with respect to promoting social development in general make the objective

doubly worthy of pursuit. Social development has significant beneficial

consequences for women, men and children. Some of these beneficial

consequences include lower fertility rates, lower infant and child mortality

rates, lower population growth rates, higher age at marriage, higher life

expectancy and greater participation by women in different sectors of the

economy.

The gap between the participation rates of boys and girls in elementary

education is the biggest single gap that needs to be filled for universalization.

The problem of universal elementary education (UEE) is, in essence, the

problem of the girl child. Gender disparity in participation rates, particularly in

rural areas, reflect the discriminatory social attitude with respect to the girl

child. While the solution for this problem does not lie entirely in the

educational system, education can and should play a positive interventionist

role in the improvement of women's status by fostering the development of new

values through redesigned curricula, textbooks, as well as the training and

orientation of teachers, decision makers and administrators. As the most

critical educational institution in an individual's life, the school can provide

exposure to a counter-couture that engenders self-esteem, confidence and

decision-making skills in girls. This would have far reaching implication for

the status of women in the next and succeeding generations.

• Girls' enrolment at the primary stage has grown appreciably -

from 6 million in 1950-51 to 43 million in 1991-92 and at the upper

primary stage from 0.5 million to 13 million. The growth rate of girls

enrolment has been higher than that of boys byt disparities still

remain.

• Female literacy varies from 8 per cent in Barmer district of

Rajasthan to 94 per cent in the Kottyam district of Kerala.

• High female literacy states (above 50 per cent) such as Kerala,

Goa, Pondicherry and Lakshadweep have, by and large, universalized

primary enrolment among girls.

• In states with medium female literacy rate (40-50 per cent) the

enrolment of girls appears to be satisfactory at the primary level but

three is a steep fall at the upper primary level.

• The situation in low female literacy states (20-40 per cent) is

cause for concern, particularly as more than half of the country's

population is to be found in these states, with just four of them (Uttar

Pradesh, Rajsthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar) accounting for 40 per

cent of the country's population.

 • Decade-wise, the index of gender equality, (i.e. (ratio of female

literates to total literates) divided by (the ratio of the female

population to the total population)) which should ideally by 100,

improved from 69 in 1981 to 76 in 1991.

• In 1991, 60.8 per cent of the female population aged 7 years and

above was illiterate. Over two-thirds of the illiterate female

population lives in rural areas.

• It is a matter concern that the rural-urban difference in female

literacy has increased.

• While in proportional terms the illiterate female population has

declined from 78.2 per cent in 1981 to 60.8 per cent in 1991, in

absolute terms the same population has increased by 59.15 million.

• In 1991-92, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) 1 at the

1. GER represents the number of children enrolled at a particular level

of education as a percentage of children who are eligible for

enrolment at that level. GERs are sometimes higher than 100 because

of the presence of pupils over-aged for the respective levels.

• In 1991-92, the gross enrolment ration(GER) 1 at the primary level

was 88.1 for girls as compared to 116.6 for boys.

• At the upper primary level the corresponding figures were 47.4

per cent for girls as compared to 74.2 per cent for boys.
• There is a great deal of variation in GERs frin state ti state. In

Rajasthan the primary and upper primary GERs for girls are 50 and

23. The corresponding ratios for Kerala are 98 and 104

• The Drop Out Rate 2 (1988-89) for girls from Classes I - V was

49.69 and for boys 46.74. Thus fir every 10 girls who entered Class I

only 5 reached Class V.

• In Classes I - V Scheduled Caste children account for 15.79 per

cent of the total enrolment; of this only 39.46 per cent are girls. In

Classes VI-VIII, Scheduled Caste children account for 13.61 per cent

of the total enrolment and only 33.16 per cent are girls.

• In Classes I-V Scheduled Tribe children form 7.91 per cent of the

total enrolment; of this 38.37 per cent are girls. In classes VI-VIII,

Scheduled Tribe children account for 5.19 per cent of the total

enrolment and only 32.33 per cent are girls.

• At 68.73 per cent, girls belonging to Scheduled Tribes have the

highest Drop Out Rate at the primary level. The corresponding figure

for Scheduled Caste girls is 53.39 per cent.

• Nearly one-third of the girls who manage to enter formal

education in Class I drop out before entering Class II.

• The incidence of drop out and stagnation amongst girls is nearly

twice that among boys.

 • The Drop Out Rate for rural girls is higher than that for urban

girls.

• Even in non-formal education centres, girls form only one-third

of the total enrolment. From 1986 to 1993 all-girl's centres have

increased from 20,500 to 79,000.

• A special focus on the backward states, removal of gender and

regional disparities and a sustained emphasis on improvement of

facilities, universal enrolment, participation and satisfactory levels of

learning rather than the mere provision of facilities are pivotal in the

endeavor to achieve Education For All in Indian context.

Working Girl

Despite the promulgation of the Child Labour

(Prohibition and Regulation) Act in 1986, children, and especially girls,

continue to be involved in hazardous and non-remunerative occupations.

In the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes "child labour", and

variations in the pattern of work in rural India, it becomes very difficult

to make an estimate of the number of child workers. The work of girls is

usually "invisible" because it is located in the domestic sphere and, as a

rule, household tasks defy quantification and monetary valuation.

In addition to constitutional and legislative safeguards, the Government

of India has announced the formulation of a National Child Labour

Policy. A Child Labour technical Advisory Committee, which among

other things, is responsible to better coordinate and intensify ongoing

development programs for income generation and employment in child

labour concentration areas, has also been constituted. Nevertheless,

"working girls" in the urban unorganized sector remain largely unseen

and therefore overlooked by law, policy and developmental interventions.

According to the 1981 Census 1 , 8.35 per cent girls under 14 years of age

were main workers (involved in full time economic activity) and 9.35 per

cent were marginal workers (not working full time). Several studies show

that, in part, the exploitation of the female child is a direct result of the

exploitation of women.

While the larger proportion of girls is involved in full-time economic

activity, boys are often marginal workers; this is partly because boys go

to school for some hours of the day.

Between 1971 and 1981 there was an increase in the work participation

rate of girls and a decrease in the case of boys.

Whereas the child labour force according to the 1981 census was 13.59

million strong, estimates that extend the definition of "child labour" to

include children in non-remunerative work, place the figure somewhere

between 40 and 50 million.

The bulk of the rural female working child population is engaged in

caring for younger sibling, cooking, cleaning, fetching fodder and fuel; in

the fields girls are involved in sowing, transplanting, weeding and

harvesting. (In 1985 it was estimated that by the time she ceases to be a

child, the girl in rural India has contributed assistance to the family

which in economic terms is to the true of Rs.39,600.)

In the cities girls are usually involved in housework, domestic service,

vending (balloons, dusters, peanuts, bangles and newspapers), rag

picking, begging, home based piece rate work such as pasting cartons,

stitching books, sewing buttons on garments, fixing zippers on bags,

making joss sticks, basket weaving, and tailoring. Girls usually earn

between Rs.5 and 15 for 8-10 hours of work. In most cases they do not

even get separate wages as they generally work with their mother. Unlike

the male child girls are not sent to workshops or factories except in the

case of the match, fireworks and bangle industries. Some girls are

involved in the coir, incense, papad and beedi industries. Others

embroidery, grain cleaning and carpet weaving.

Work in the carpet, beedi and zari embroidery industries is associated

with several health hazards, including respiratory, eye and orthopedic

conditions.

The basic premise of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,

1986, is that there must be an identifiable employer and an identifiable

employee. Because they do not always work in factories or workshops,

girl workers are beyond the reach of law; furthermore, their numbers

remain to be holistically estimated.

Considerable variations in the estimates of the number of working

children exist because of differences in the definitions of "child" and

"worker. The 1981 Census reported nationally that only 13.6 million

children - 8.1 m males and 5.5 m females- in the 5-14 age group were

working. It has been argued that the census figures account essentially

for only those children engaged in the informal sector or formal

activities, ignoring the large numbers who are "invisible", working

without wages or as domestic servants, as well as children who are self-

employed.

A survey of 182 low income households in two Delhi slums showed that :

- female working children were younger than male working children

(9.5 years as opposed to 10.7 years);

- girls stopped working earlier because of the still prevalent practice of

early marriage;

- nearly 50 per cent of the female children were surrogate housekeepers

or surrogate mothers; they had often been pulled out of school for

precisely that reason; girls most often slid from the role of surrogate

mother to early motherhood;

- most children followed the occupation of the parent of the same sex;

- most girls worked for 25 to 30 days a month; 23 per cent of girls

worked for eight hours a day;

- the average earnings of female children were lower than those of male

children;

- a significant proportion of girls worked without any monetary

compensation;

- female children in almost all cases gave all their earnings to their

parents and;

- girls had much less free time for play and leisure activities.

Sustained political will and action are required to ensure equality of

status and opportunity for the girl child in the 1990s. There are a number

of policy initiatives that Governments, international organizations and

private groups could undertake. Among these are:

1. Adopt political, legislative and development policies that eliminate

gender disparity and discrimination in childhood. At present, there is

inadequate appreciation of the problems and the special needs of the

girl child by all involved in the development process.

2. Undertake specialized research and investigation into the status of the

girl child. Create databases on her by collecting data disaggregated by

gender and age and demonstrating the anthropological, religious,

legislative and socio-economic evidence of her unequal status and

living conditions. Disseminate widely the findings of such research

for advocacy, policy formulation and programme interventions.

 3. Formulate time-bound targets and concrete actions to improve the

basic health, nutrition, education and social status of the girls child.

4. Establish mechanisms to monitor the situation of the girl child at the

community and national levels to ensure that policies and programmes

for her survival and development are successfully carried out.

5. Launch effective public information and communication programmes

to create an awareness of the greater vulnerability of the girl child and

her special development needs.

6. Formulate specific legal and social provisions to counteract the

unacceptable negative image of the girl in traditional and non-

traditional media, education, religion and culture. Set up adequate

mechanisms to enforce such provisions.

7. Mobilize political, religious, cultural, administrative and community

resources to create an ethos of care and value for the girl child. Such

an ethos should promote the elimination of gender disparities and

discrimination among children.

8. Encourage the participation of girls at all levels of human

development activity to enhance their self-confidence & self-worth.

9. Advocate equal rights for girls in all national and international for a .

Multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental organizations must place

girl child and women's issues higher on their development agendas.

STRATEGY
We thought of having this kind of strategy that is

Strategy Planning Implementation control

So all we have under Adoption process is that it is based on learn-feel-do

approach because seeing all the environment. We find that there are problems

in belief, attitudes values, norms and behaviors of the target group that is

village and semi-urban areas. So this feeling or notion of "gender disparity or

male superiority" is so firmly established that it can't be uprooted so easily so

first we have to convert their negative attitude to neutral and then neutral to

positive which is a long process. And it can't be done so easily so first we had

to make them learn that girls are not weak or secondary in anyway. But we

human beings just like men. It is a different thing that they have been made

biologically so as to conceive, give birth end feed infants with their milk. But

this is what, which all of us men receive at some stag. That is had their been no

women how can a man get birth. It is she who gives birth, feed him on her milk

and give all the love and affection required to him. So we should understand

that mothers play important role in development of man. Similarly the girl is

same as a boy child. She also has some parents and is born by similar process.

So she is entitled to get similar love, affection and care by the parents. She has

similar mental make up. If given less attention and care , she won't be able to

develop fully. So we should not treat a girl and a wife badly or discriminate

upon, simply because our fathers/forefathers did to like this but rather shed our

old belief and more towards rational approach.

Problem going to be faced

The problem which we likely will face is that this scheme has everything right

from moral, social to psychological front. But has not monetary gains involved

for villagers if they remove gender bias. So we will find it difficult to attract

the target segment. So other Ps of marketing mix has to be efficiently utilized

to cover up this loophole.

Why learn-feel-do approach

This is because the product is such that unless and until people learn that this

approach id right. The entire process gets defeated. Then people not only

should learn, but also feel that this process or adoption is right and then and

only then they will act. So in easy terms we can say that target adopters should

develop the right knowledge, develop attitudes for the rightness of approach

and then act upon it. It will create a sense of goodness and a contagion effect

will be passed on to others.

So our basic aim is to tackle the problem from four points. These are :

Psychological front

Since the people is rural areas regard English or western's to be superior so

we have to show them that in western societies women and girls child have an

equal status. The urban society and other firm personalities which are regarded

as role model by rural people. Should be shown so as to here psychological

effect on their mind that giving equal to girls areas making yourself equal to

those people.

Moral

It is also to be highlighted, giving old vedic period accounts that women

enjoyed equal status in Indian society, Islam provides lots of rights to women,

even Christianity provides all such rights. However, all these rights are not

being given to them. So we should atleast give all these rights to them.

Benefit

We can highlight and tell them that benefits they can get if they raise status of

women example. If empowered or made to learn new techniques they can earn

and help poor villagers in increasing their family income. The organisly

women on cooperative lines help to earn money as they did in Amul case. This

will help the farmers to fulfill day to day needs. As earnings of harvest is used

in the purchase of clothes, seeds etc. Even if women become powerful and

become acute in panchayats. It will raise the status of her husband or father. So

now having such a wife or daughter is a matter of pride. However continuing to

maintain the women or girl confined at home shows lagging behind in the

society.

Constitutional provisions for girl and women in India

1. Art 14 - right to equality- all persons are equal before law and are equally

protected by law.

2. Art 15 - Prohibits discrimination by state on grounds of religion, race,

caste, sex etc.

3. Art 16 - Equality of opportunity to all (including male and female).

4. Art 19 - Right to freedom to speech, assembly, move freely and do any

profession though this is not directly effects, but it removes impediments in

all such thing for girls.

5. Art 38 - direct the state to promote the welfare of people and to secure just

social order.

6. Art 39(d) - Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.

7. Art 42 - directs state for just and human conditions of work and maternity

relief.

8. 73 rd and 74 th - Constitutional amendment - A reservation of 30% in all self

rule bodies including panchayats, district councils etc.