SHILLONG: The better child sex ratio and positive approach to girl child in Meghalaya and the rest of the North East was an inspiration behind the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme initiated by the Modi government at the Centre.
“The North East which had better child sex ratio (0-6) compared to others states, was a case study to help launch the ambitious scheme,” said A.L. Sharada, an NGO leader from Mumbai representing Population First, which focuses on empowerment of women and children.
While Meghalaya has a girl child sex ratio of 970 per 1000 boys (0-6 years) as per the 2011 Census, the sex ratios of other Northeastern states are Arunachal Pradesh (960), Nagaland (944), Manipur (934), Mizoram (971), Tripura (953), Assam (957) and Sikkim (944).
“Considering the current national average of 914, the sex ratio in the Northeast is comparatively higher,” Sharada said while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
The NGO leader, however, said that compared to the 2001 Census, there has been reduction in the child sex ratio in the Northeast as per 2011 Census which is a cause of concern and needs to be addressed.
Moreover, as per the Census in terms of urban and rural areas of the North East, there is significant increase in sex ratio in the rural areas of some states compared to urban centres.
The NGO, Population First, is a communication and advocacy initiative for a balanced, planned and stable population.
The NGO was in the city to call entries from media persons for the Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for gender sensitivity.
The awards were instituted under the name, Laadli (darling daughter) to highlight empowerment of girls and details will be available on www.populationfirst.org
Sharada said the intention to institute awards for media persons in 13 languages was to encourage them to highlight the issues of gender sensitivity through their writings, and audio- visual contents.
