Government's gender schemes falling short due to lack of data: CRY

The NGO also highlighted 10 categories where data deficiency is needed to be addressed including child trafficking, child abuse

The Centre's ambitious schemes like 'Beti Bachao Beti Padao' are proving to be "ineffective" due to lack of critical data on girl children and young women, rues a child rights organisation on the eve of International Girl Child Day.

According to Child Rights and You (CRY), the "existing data on girl children is limited and intermittently available, thus creating an impediment in analysing the progress made by various schemes and developing strategies."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project 'Beti Bachao Beti Padao' will continue to be "undermined by knowledge gaps" if data on child sex ratios is not collected annually or bi-annually instead of once in a decade through Census survey, the NGO said on Monday.

Komal Ganotra, Director, Policy, Research and Advocacy, CRY, said, "These existing gaps in data on girls and young women, lack of systematic analysis and limited use of existing data significantly limit our ability to get a clear picture."

"Tracking of such critical and girl-relevant data would ensure programs, policies and services to effectively respond to the specific needs of young women," she said.

CRY also underlined the need for gender-segregated data on nutritional status and community health.

It emphasised the need for qualitative data regarding the age-old custom of child marriage, "which will dissect why it is widely practiced and young girls concede to such a practice".

The NGO further highlighted 10 categories where data deficiency is needed to be addressed including child trafficking, child abuse, girl child labour and education of girls.