AR Bhat
Over the years, Jammu & Kashmir is witnessing a decline in the sex ratio which is having serious social and biological ramifications in the society. As per many surveys, the Union Territory is showing a sharp decline in the birth of girls since the last census was done. In Jammu & Kashmir, the number of girls per 1000 boys (aged between 0-6 years) stood at 941 in the 2001 census, while as the census of 2011 revealed that it further dropped to 859. Many experts are of the opinion that sex ratio has increased in India but the child sex ratio has declined both in rural and urban areas of Jammu & Kashmir. This is a grave concern for all. As any census done does not search for reasons behind the loss, many of the economics and sociologists rate female foeticide as the ray factor in the drastic decrease of girl child. The different problems faced by a girl child in Kashmir include firstly lack of education. In Kashmir social biases and economic constraints have surely impacted girls education especially in rural and remote regions of this newly announced Union Territory. As per survey conducted by National Statistical Office, the Union Territory’s female literacy rate is 68%, much lower than male literacy rate of 85%. Parents give priority to the contribution of girls to household chores over education. They feel it’s important to prepare the girls for the other house where they will be spending their life after marriage. The Union Territory administration while taking note of the abysmal female literacy rate especially in rural area has recently announced setting up of 176 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas residential schools, for catering to the educational needs of 15,000 female students of the disadvantaged groups of society at the elementary level.
Secondly is sexual abuse in Kashmir there has long been a culture of silence around child sexual abuse, especially when family members are involved. There is a tendency to either disbelieve or disregard children who complain against teachers, neighbours and family members and inadequate reporting mechanism. The increased reporting of child sexual abuse cases in Kashmir is attributed to both the Jammu & Kashmir POCSO Act 2018 followed by the POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019 and improved monitoring and tracking systems after implementation of the child protection service schemes. Other problems are child marriage many girls in different districts of Jammu & Kashmir are still getting married at an early age, which affects their overall development to a great extent. The cause of child marriage is manifold which includes a sense of insecurity, rise in poverty, traditional and religious practices. All these challenges act as a barrier in the way of various developmental programmes for the empowerment of women. The Govt has taken some good steps like projects called Ladli Beti which it is a social assistance scheme meant for new born girl child of Union Territories of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh who were born on or after 1st April 2015. The objective of the scheme is to arrest the declining female sex ratio. The scheme further intends to ensure that the girl child does not become burden for the parent or guardian at the time of her marriage. It is a hybrid deposit plan having two phases. But the state needs to take sizable leaps for the betterment of girls. As we progress towards a developed Nation every care must be taken to compositely develop and empower women along the way to stand true to what our Prime Minister Late Shri Jawaharlal Nehru once said ‘You can tell the condition of a Nation by looking at the status of its Women’.
