Nestled on the banks of the Sarasvathi River lies a region of historical and religious importance, Kurukshetra. The mythological Kurukshetra War described in the Mahabaratha was fought here and this is where the Bhagavad Gita was preached by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. Present day Kurukshetra, however, is a different story in regards to gender balance. Kurukshetra was one of the five districts of Haryana with skewed sex ratios in which CSR has implemented the Beti Bachao Beti Phadao (BBBP) program. The honourable Minister for Women & Child Development, Government of India, Mrs. Maneka Sanjay Gandhinominated CSR as the nodal agency to implement BBBP in these five districts. As part of the project strategy in raising awareness levels regarding the importance of girl children in a family, CSR celebrated the birth of girl by observing ‘Kanya Janm Mahotsav’. 60 parents of girl children of 0-2 years of age were felicitated at this program. It was held on 21st May 2015, 11am – 1 pm, at the Senior Secondary School, Babain Block, Kurukshetra and was a resounding success.
There were over 120 people who attended the event and everyone was keen on taking part in a new initiative. Many dignitaries and distinguished guests were also present including: Ms. Pooja Bharti, City Magistrate; Dr. Madhu Sharma, Deputy CMO; Ms. Neetu, CDPO; Mr. Lakhwinder Singh, Social Activist and Mr. Kulbeer Malik from Red Cross Society. The program began with a welcome song by the students from the Senior Secondary School which was followed by three poems by the students in remembrance of the lost girl child in the womb and the discrimination girls and women face in the society.
Dr. Mishra explained the BBBP project to the audience and CSR team’s subsequent presence in their district. Dr. Mishra’s speech described the worsening sex ratio in the community and the declining social status of the women and girls in society. She said that the world cannot exist without women but she also clearly stated that we all must respect their presence, just like any other human being. Mr. Malik urged the community to reflect on the reasons as to why CSR needs to work in their district and how the change in mindset that CSR seeks can only come from the people. On similar lines, Dr. Sharma was extremely happy that such an event took place in Kurukshetra which meant greater interaction between the government and community. Overall, the rhetoric across the board was quite similar. The people need to celebrate the birth of a being rather than discriminating based on thesex of a child. Terminating pregnancies or being sad at the birth of a girl child is inherently wrong, and the people should see why this is the case.
The event saw 50 parents garlanded and presented with gifts for their daughters and themselves. The event was finally wrapped up with some slogans for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Meri Shakti Meri Beti.
Looking forward to reading your blogs, you can mail us your entries at WriteWithUs@csrindia.org, or upload them at Write With Us.
Donation for Centre for Social Research to Join our effort in rehabilitating Domestic Violence
Discuss this article on Facebook
