Last January, acting on a tip-off, police officials in Beed district of the Marathwada region conducted a covert operation on the house of an Anganwadi sevika—a female worker appointed by the government to provide welfare services to mothers and children. The house, where a doctor was available, was equipped with a sonography machine and abortion pills. It was functioning as an underground clinic for illegal prenatal sex determination procedures. In 2022, the Anganwadi sevika and the doctor had been arrested in a case involving the abortion of a pregnant woman who later died. The duo had resumed the illegal business of sex determination, after being released on bail. Their latest arrest laid bare the authorities’ failure to enforce the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, which prohibits sex determination of unborn babies.
Why Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Isn’t Working In Parts Of Maharashtra And Gujarat
Unless the societal mindset changes, and girls are considered equal to boys, the campaign of BBBP would only remain symbolic
Beed is among the primary districts of Maharashtra included in the Union government’s flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) scheme, to curb female infanticide. The district continues to remain one of the red zones in the state where sonography for sex determination and abortions of female foetuses are rampant. Post covid, Beed has seen a sharp decline in female births compared to male births, falling below the national average of 933 girls for every 1000 boys. In parts of Patoda tehsil, only 764 girls were born, in Shirur tehsil the count is 848, whereas in Kej tehsil, only 888 girls have been recorded. These numbers have marginally improved since the last decade (2011-12) when the district’s sex ratio at birth was 797 girls for every 1000 boys.
Overall, the data from the National Family Health Survey-5 released in 2021, shows a skewed sex ratio at birth in Maharashtra, which stands at 913 girls/1000 boys.
A similar situation prevails in the neighbouring state of Gujarat, which has a low sex ratio of 866 girls/1000 boys at birth. Mehsana district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s native place, is among the most stigmatised in the state in terms of declining female birth rate. Activists say that while there has been an improvement in the sex ratio at birth, illegal sex determination is common in the state due to the willingness of medical practitioners and available infrastructure. Preference for a male child is common among the Patel and the Thakur castes, which has resulted in a skewed sex ratio in these communities.
The BBBPP campaign launched in 2015 by the Modi-led BJP government was a continuation of government initiatives to ‘save the girl child.’ Its core objective was to address the crisis of low birth rate, ensure survival, protection and education of the girl child. However, ground reality in the western regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat shows that despite public awareness and advocacy, the campaign is far from success, many activists say. Advocate Varsha Deshpande, member of the National Commission for Women, says that the BBBP campaign was a political achievement but has failed to make constructive changes. She blames low conviction rate and government apathy in law enforcement for the prevalence of these practices.
The BBBP campaign incorporates seven laws: Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, National Food Security Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.
“We have been campaigning with the government for over a decade to take stringent action against the accused in these cases. There is a failure of prosecution, as there are more acquittals than convictions. Chargesheets are filed late or there is political interference. Why does the government not take these cases seriously?” she asks. Deshpande has personally conducted several sting operations on child marriage, and on clinics carrying out illegal sex determination and abortions of the girl child. She claims there hasn’t been a single conviction in these cases. According to her, the BBBP campaign fund is used for advocacy and campaigns, and not to strengthen mechanisms on the ground for gender sensitivity training, capacity building of civil society organisations to intervene and curb child marriages and sex determination. “NGOs and civil society members who have worked in the field of educating and saving girls are not represented in the government supervision and co-ordination meetings. Instead, they are undermined and harassed,” she says.
In Maharashtra, the BBPP campaign was initially implemented in ten districts: Beed, Sambhajinagar, Dharashiv and Jalna, located in Marathwada region; Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Washim, Kolhapur and Sangli. Marathwada is an impoverished and drought-prone region, and has a high prevalence of farmers' suicide, child marriages and sex determination to eliminate the girl child. It is also home to approximately 14 lakh sugar-cane cutting workers who migrate annually with family for six months to sugarcane farms in different parts of the state.
Ashok Tangade, Chairperson of Beed district’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC) says that most sugarcane cutting families are exploited in terms of labour and have high debts, which makes it difficult for them to nurture and educate children. “These families, out of desperation, prefer to marry off girls early (at the age of 13 or so) or abort them. After having a couple of children, adult women undergo hysterectomies so they can work on the farms for long hours without having to worry about menstrual hygiene.”
In the past nine months, the CWC in Beed district recorded 288 cases of forced child marriages and rescued and rehabilitated the minor girls. All the cases were reported and stopped by NGO workers and social activists.
Tangade says that every village has a ‘gramsevak’ member in the Panchayat, who is responsible for informing district authorities of child marriage cases. “Most of the time, these cases are suppressed due to immense pressure and harassment by the family or the sarpanch. Moreover, there is no incentive for gramsevaks to report such cases and as a result, such marriages keep on happening.”
In Gujarat, a skewed sex ratio has created a marriage crisis, leading to trafficking of child brides and bride swindler gangs as desperate men try to get married. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had noted that minor girls from the state were trafficked to Gujarat for marriage.
Gujarat faces significant challenges in education, particularly with school dropouts. According to data from the Ministry of Education, the state ranks among the bottom seven in terms of high school dropout rates with 17.85 per cent, which is higher than the national average of 12.6 per cent.
Neeta Hardikar, executive director at ANANDI NGO, which mainly works in Gujarat’s eastern tribal districts, said that the region was lacking in terms of the nutrition of children under five, education and social development. The tribal population is highly dependent on migration for work and takes young children along with them, because of which they skip school. “The enrolment of girls in schools has improved, but they are still married off before they turn 18. Even if girls finish their basic education, there is a lack of employability options; they do not have any kind of autonomy or decision making,” she says.
Hardikar adds that community-level engagement to change social norms and practices and empower women in terms of sexual and reproductive health is crucial.
Dr Smita Bajpai, former project director of the NGO, CHETNA (Centre for Health Education Training and Nutrition Awareness), which implemented BBBP schemes in Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Patan and Gandhinagar districts, agrees that there is a need for a long-term programme to bring about social change. “We conducted gender sensitivity workshops with villagers and anganwadi workers and informed them of the ill effects of sex determination. They understand and agree with the problem, but we need large social change where girls are valued and promoted,” she says.
Gujaratis being a traditionally trading community, have a strong preference for male children to continue the family business. Other norms like the concept that only a male child of the family can conduct cremation, take care of parents in their old age or can be given inheritance are also largely responsible for this preference. Activists point out that unless this mindset changes, and girls are considered equal to boys to fulfil the family responsibilities, the campaign of BBBP would only remain symbolic.