By IANS,
New Delhi: Expressing concern over the declining sex ratio in the country, Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Krishna Tirath Tuesday called for political commitment of the highest order to remove the gender divide and appealed to people to treat girls as an asset.
Speaking on the occasion of National Girl Child Day, Tirath said a disturbing fact is that in the last decade, as many as 27 states and union territories have experienced a fall in the child sex ratio.
“A sharp fall has been reported in child sex ratio in many states, reflecting a national trend that cuts across class and the rural-urban divide,” she said.
Calling for political commitment of the highest order to fight the trend, Tirath emphasized: “Treat the girl child as an asset and help them become productive members of the society.”
Stress was laid on a ‘multi-pronged strategy’ to address this issue. Neela Gangadharan, Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, said: “We intend to create a road map to tackle the skewed child sex ratio. A ‘3As’ strategy (advocacy, awareness and action) needs to be taken forward.”
Giving a rational view on the subject, Farah Naqvi, member of the National Advisory Council (NAC), said: “The sex ratio is not a problem of below poverty line people. It exists in the middle class, small towns and the rich. We need to look at the right target group to address this problem. A comprehensive strategy has to be devised. We should access all social legislations from the lens of sex ratio to dent this issue”.