Selfies with daughters can go a long way in saving girl child!

Selfies with daughters can go a long way in saving girl child!

Introduction

Indian Prime Minister has promoted the initiative of “Selfies with daughters” to readdress the issue of the low sex ratio in the nation. He appealed the parents to post their pictures along with their daughters on social media.

In a recent talk show on radio, Modi spoke about the contest “Beti Bachao, Selfie Banao”. India's preference for sons created an instability in the population of our country. According to the Census report of 2011, for every 1000 boys, the report counted 914 girls, a fall from 927.

The idea emerged in the state of Haryana, which experiences the country's worst gender imbalance. Modi was inspired by this initiative, and thus, he launched it throughout the nation, to combat the issue of female foeticide.

But, will this initiative go a long way in saving a girl child? Let's have a look.

Yes – Initiative can go a long in saving the girl child.

Creating awareness – The initiative was taken by the Modi government to boost up the relation between the daughters and her parents. The government took this initiative to spread awareness regarding the low sex ratio in the country. Such creative initiatives can attract the attention of a lot of parents and thus, it would help to increase the chances of birth of girl child.

Ban on sex determination – The sex determination in our country is increasing at an alarming rate. The fall in the number of girls, per 1000 boys portrays a clear picture of the falling sex ratio. Indian society prefer males over females as they believe that a women cannot be a bread earner in the family. The initiative of “ Beti Bachao, Selfie Banao” throws a light on the importance of females in our society. It would help to combat the existing issue of female foeticide in our country.

Empowerment of women – Since decades, women have been considered to be weaker sex. Time has come, to make each parent realize that every daughter is special and they deserves equal happiness. Today, empowerment of women is taking place in various sectors. But, there are a lot of villages, wherein the girls are not allowed to get the basic education. The initiative highlights the importance of educating every girl child of our society.

Power of technology – Technology has improved drastically in the past few years. The initiative of “ Beti Bachao, Selfie Banao”, is spread mostly through the help of social networking sites. Today, almost every Indian from every part of the nation, has a Facebook or Twitter account. Thus, launching such an initiative on social networking sites is a powerful means to attract the people.

No – We need to do much more!.

Stalking daughters – There were a lot of people on the other hand, who did not support the campaign. AIPWA secretary Kavita Krishnan, asked people not to share the selfies with daughters as Modi has a record of stalking daughters. Modi was involved in the Snoopgate controversy of 2013, wherein he was accussed of monitoring and following the movements of a girl.

Corruption – After the scariest rape incident that took place in 2012, people believed that there would be a change regarding the safety of women in our country. But, even today, at least one rape case is being reported everyday. Today, India is considered to be a place which is not safe for the women. How can we expect the success of such an initiative in a country which has the highest rate of corruption and criminal records?

Better use of communication media – The Modi government could have used any other mode of communication rather than using the social networking sites. Social networking sites do not carry only the Modi followers. Launching an initiative on such a platform can attract a lot of controversies. After the initiative was launched, Nishrin Jafri who is the daughter of the late Congress leader, Ehsan Jafri, posted a picture of hers along with her father. Mr Jafrei was murdered by the mobs during the Gujrat riots of 2002 which took place under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi. This drew a lot of negative comments and views about the initiative.

Conclusion

Before the launch of “Beti Bachao, Selfie Banao”, there were a lot of other initiatives which were launched for the welfare of the women. But where are those initiatives now? Are people still talking about them? The answer is a big “NO”.

In India, whether it is a news or an initiative, people talk about it hardly for two days or maximum for a week.

Such an initiative may create an enthusiasm among the people just for a few days and later on, people tend to forget it slowly. Even today women are facing the issue of gender inequality at some point of their life. And this would continue to happen, in a country like India. This is definitely a welcome move but a selfie can not be the only device to bring about a change!