NAC wants govt to assess impact of cash incentives for girl child…..Anuja
As part of its recommendations for a national policy to stem Indias declining sex ratio, NAC also sought the formation of a communication and advocacy strategy and stronger laws to prevent the misuse of medical technology for sex selection
As part of its recommendations for a national policy to stem Indias declining sex ratio, NAC also sought the formation of a communication and advocacy strategy and stronger laws to prevent the misuse of medical technology for sex selection
New Delhi: The National Advisory Council (NAC) wants the government to assess if its cash incentive scheme for the welfare of girls meets its objective of reducing gender selection, as theres no official study yet to suggest that it does.
As part of its recommendations for a national policy to stem Indias declining sex ratio, NAC also sought the formation of a communication and advocacy strategy and stronger laws to prevent the misuse of medical technology for sex selection.
NAC sets the social agenda for the government. It is led by Sonia Gandhi, the head of the Congress party that leads the Union government.
There is no field-based impact-assessment of these (cash incentive) schemes, in the absence of which there is no evidence regarding the desired objective of reducing sex selection, NAC said in its draft recommendations dated 20 April. Clearly, there is a need for a systematic evaluation before these schemes are articulated or promoted as the centrepiece of the fight against the declining sex ratio.
The Census reported a decline in the sex ratio from 927 females per 1,000 males in 2001 to 914 in 2011. The council said this was a cause for alarm and urgency, as it laid down recommendations for the Union government.
The recommendations were drafted by NACs seven-member working group on gender and child sex ratio in India, jointly convened by its members A.K. Shiva Kumar and Farah Naqvi.
The working group held three national consultations on the issue before drafting the recommendations. The council has published the draft recommendations on its website and sought comments from the public on them by 6 May.
NAC said that while framing a national policy on the declining sex ratio at birth, the government should consider a broader framework of womens empowerment and ensure inter-sectoral planning and action.
It also stressed that reproductive rights and the right to safe and legal abortion be safeguarded. The policy must state unequivocally that any intervention or communication message on this issue must not inadvertently serve to stigmatize abortion per se, compromise womens reproductive rights, their right to choose, or jeopardize access to safe and legal abortion, NAC said.
The council suggested that the governments communication and advocacy strategy can be addressed through three categorieslegal messaging, information-based messaging, and messages that challenge attitudes and behaviours.
Experts, however, said implementation of existing laws and registration of ultrasound machines lie at the crux of approaching the problem of declining child sex ratio.
Today, we are dealing with ultrasound machines and doctors who are relentlessly promoting the use of these machines for foetus selection, said Sabu George, an expert who has been working in the area of girl child development and empowerment for over 25 years. The present law covers emerging technologies, but the law needs to be implemented. Registration has partially happened, but regulation of ultrasound machines is not happening.
George was one of the 52 non-government representatives consulted for drafting NACs recommendations.