MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI)
(a) to (c): Yes, Sir. Human Development Report - 2014 published by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has ranked India at 132 position (out of 148 countries) in terms of Gender- related Development Index (GDI).
Ending gender based inequities, discrimination and violence faced by girls and women in the country is of utmost priority for the Government. The Government of India has already enacted a number of legislations to address gender based discrimination. These include the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,2006 (PCMA), Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and 73rd – 74th Amendment of the Constitution mandating 33% reservation for women in the local governance. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates the provision of free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. Further, to address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR), the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme has been initiated with the objectives to empowering the girl child and enabling her education through a mass campaign and focussed intervention in 100 critical districts with low CSR.
Gender Budgeting, which aims at translating gender commitments in to budgetary commitments, has been adopted as a tool for mainstreaming gender perspective at various stages of planning, budgeting, implementation, impact assessment and revisiting of policy/ programme objectives and allocations, with an objective of influencing and effecting a change in the Ministries’ policies, programmes in a way that could tackle gender imbalances, promote gender equality and development and ensure that public resources through the Ministries budgets are allocated and managed accordingly;
The Sabla programme of this Ministry which aims to empower adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18, by improving their nutritional and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills etc and building awareness on various issues including legal rights of women.
(d): No Madam. Ministry of Women and Child Development has not conducted any study in recent years to that effect
(e): To overcome gender based inequalities/discrimination, the Government of India conducts awareness generation programmes and publicity campaigns on rights of women. This includes gender sensitization through workshops, fairs, cultural programmes, seminars, training programmes, street plays, Nari ki Chaupals, Beti Janmotshav at the district level. In collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj Special (Mahila) Gram Sabhas have also been conducted. Advertisements in the press and electronic media educating peoples about issues of domestic violence, declining Child Sex Ratio and Child Marriage are also being taken up. Platforms such as the International Women’s Day and the National Girl Child Day are used to create awareness on issues related to women and to bring to the centre stage issues such as sex selective abortions and child marriage.
