Haryana's Jhajjar: From skewed child sex ratio to a balancing act

Haryana's Jhajjar district, which reported a miserable child sex ratio of 774 in year 2011, has, in a remarkable achievement, reached the figure of 920 in December, 2017.
The child sex ratio of Jhajjar district was 825 at the time of launch of the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015 from Panipat.
"Now, the target has been set to reach sex ratio at birth to at least 950 by December 2018," Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner Sonal Goel said today.
According to the 2011 census, Jhajjar distict reported a child sex ratio of 774 compared to then national average of 914 and the state average of 830.

The sex ratio at birth was 825 in Jhajjar, one of the lowest in the country in the year 2015.
The sex ratio at birth (SRB) in Haryana rose to 914 girls for 1,000 boys last year. In 2015, the SRB was 871 girls for 1,000 boys and in 2016, it was 900 girls for 1,000 boys.

Officials said that after the launch of the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign, the government had embarked upon a multi-pronged drive to rectify the skewed sex ratio in Haryana.
"With the launch of the BBBP campaign in Haryana, all the three key departments, Health, Women and Child Development and Education worked in unison for all the activities conducted under the campaign," Goel said.

Goel said that multi-pronged strategy and multiple targeted interventions of enforcement as well as community engagement were adopted at behavioural change.
"As part of enforcement drives, 28 raids have been conducted under PC PNDT Act 1994 including inter-district and inter-state raids. Registration of pregnancy in first trimester is targeted by district administration; close to 90 per cent has been achieved, one of the highest than state average," she said.
Under community engagement, social rituals and customs related to celebration of birth of male child are being promoted to celebrate the birth of girl child like Kuan Pujan, Kalash yatra, etc; and targeted interventions are being made in panchayats with low sex ratio at birth.

For promoting education of girls, initiatives are being taken under 'Saksham Haryana' for enhancing learning competency levels, she said.
To counter dropouts among school-going girls, district Jhajjar initiated a pilot project called 'Umang-Ek Pehel' where adolescent girls are provided with free-of-cost sanitary napkins and awareness workshops on menstrual health management.
"The sanitary pads are produced by Self-Help Groups in the district and given to girls in the government schools. This has effectively reduced dropouts and motivated girls to attend schools during their menstrual cycle," Goel said.
"Jhajjar administration has also been collaborating with the NGOs and civil society bodies to create a greater impact towards women empowerment in the region. Participation of girls in sports is also encouraged," she said.

A small booklet 'Mhari laado', highlighting the activities under BBBP and related schemes, was presented to President Ram Nath Kovind when Goel met him in New Delhi recently during an award function at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Goel said the president appreciated the initiative of Jhajjar district in improving the sex ratio at birth and urged them to try and make the ratio equal.