MAKE it HAPPEN
India is littered with schemes for womens uplift.Few work.Here are ten ideas in the right direction.As they say,opportunities multiply as they are seized.
1 BICYCLES FOR GIRLS
PEDAL POWER
The idea to give bicycles to school girls,first mooted by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in 2006,ensured girls continue school after Class 8.In three years in Bihar,8.7 lakh schoolgirls bought bicycles,the cost reimbursed by the state.CM Naveen Patnaik pushed the idea in Orissa,and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is the third CM to pedal his way to some good.Pedal power to ensure girls can access school.
2 SEED FUND FOR SMALL BUSINESS
SCALE-UP STORY
This Budget,self-help groups got a leg up with a corpus of Rs 500 crore with a Womens self-help group development fund.Add to this the restructured Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and it could be a potent weapon for cottage industries and smallscale enterprises for women.
3 BOOST FOR CARE-GIVERS
RAISE THE BAR
For the 22 lakh anganwadi workers and helpers,the Budget brought some relief in the honorarium given to them.Though still below minimum wages,anganwadi workers can expect a hike to Rs 3000;helpers will get Rs 1500.
4 RATION CARDS FOR SINGLE WOMEN
RIGHT TO FOOD
In a first,Kerala has recently introduced ration cards for single women,very often heads of households the divorced,widowed and the unmarried.With rising food prices,these women will be able to access foodgrains available through the PDS independently.
5 RESERVATION FOR WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
UNSEAT THE THREAT
Brute force wont work here,but movers of the Womens Reservation Bill in and outside Parliament must ensure the Bill is passed.With women in four powerful positions in the country,its a now-or-never moment.Egypt calling
6 FAMILY HEALTH CARD FOR POOR
EASY TREATMENT
Reports on the use of the family health card or the drab sounding Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) card,suggest that poor women,for the first time,are accessing treatment.Among the estimated 250 million Indians who live just above the poverty line,women are bottom of the pile on a familys health priorities.Theres never money for her treatment.With the card,women with health problems are walking into 5,000-odd public & private hospitals.
7 ENSURE MENSTRUAL HYGIENE
NO TIME TO WASTE
From dropping out of school to high risk of infection,no access to sanitary napkins compromises 88% menstruating women in India.Finally,there are plans,yet to take off,to provide napkins to BPL girls at Rs 1 per pack.Girls above poverty line (APL) will pay Rs 5 per pack.The wake-up call follows findings that only 12% of Indias 355 million menstruating women use sanitary napkins.100% women in Singapore and Japan,88% in Indonesia and 64% in China use sanitary pads.
8 TAKE CARE OF MOM
HELP IN DELIVERY
Delivery of babies in hospitals or maternity centres under the Janani Suraksha Yojna,started in 2005,has brought in some reduction in maternal and new-born deaths.Its still not smooth sailing,but worth pushing the issue.
9 PROTECT KIDS FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT
PRESENT SECURE
Protection of children against sexual offences: Over 50% perpetrators of child abuse cases are people known to the child.This new law finally brings under its ambit sexual assault and molestation,showing and producing pornography,that should afford a level of protection to the girl child.The Bill at last stands cleared by the Union Cabinet.
10 COUNT THE WIFE
CENSUS 2011
For the first time,care is being taken to ferret info on women in households,and not just leaving it to the man to answer on everyones behalf.There are still glitches,like unmarried women wont be asked about children at all,though she may be an unwed mother.But letting the woman have her own say is a step ahead.