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Our
Campaign | Female
Foeticide in Focus | CSR
Articles | External
Resources
Meri
Shakti Meri Beti
(My
Strength My Daughter)
“Let
Women Make History Before They Become It.”
In
2006, CSR looked to intensify its interventions
on the issue of female foeticide. In November
2006 CSR began an awareness raising campaign
in Delhi amongst the
local community and students at different institutions
to fight against the menace of female foeticide.
This campaign was devised to complement our
research
project on the same issue.
Our
campaign, which operates "from campus
to community" has been active
in 7 colleges in Delhi
University
, at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT),
as well as in the 6 areas around
Delhi
which surround our Crisis Intervention Centres.
Amongst students, our campaign is known as "Stop Sex Selection, Make Equality Happen". Our objective
is to make students aware of the role which
their social group plays in this problem, and
to ask them to really question why it is the
girl child is valued so much less: by their
country, their community, their family and even
by them themselves. Nearly everyone agrees that
female foeticide is a terrible problem, but
who will take it upon themselves to instigate
a change? Who
will be responsible?
We
began our campaigning work through the traditional
activities of putting up posters, distributing
pamphlets and badges, sponsoring street play
competitions, making banners and organising
a large peaceful gathering at India Gate in
December. Photo
Gallery
Please
click on the links below to see reports of the
day’s events:
However,
we have decided that such traditional interventions,
though an essential part of any campaign, are
not enough to create a change in the mindset
of individuals who practice this. Therefore
we have been working with our student volunteers
to formulate more innovative communication
interventions, some of which we hope to be able
to implement in the forthcoming academic year
07-08. Recently students at NIFT ran a t-shirt
designing competition, which produced some excellent
design outcomes, three of which were selected
to be printed into t-shirts which are now being
sold by the students themselves to their peers.
Both those who focused their energy on the designing
task and those who now are wearing the t-shirt
have and continue to engaged with this issue
in a more in-depth way than previously.
The
need to sensitise this section of the population
is great; the young are more receptive to change,
and contrary to popular belief, sex-selective
abortion is most prevalent amongst the urban
educated professionals not the rural poor. University
students have to be a priority, we cannot assume
that with education comes an inner reflection
on social problems such as gender inequality
and son preference which are so deeply ingrained
in this society.
By
having the courage to stand up to social pressure
and not abort female foetuses; this generation
of students can set the tone for years to come
and help to re-educate their parents, in-laws,
grandparents, siblings and all those who have
a vested interest in the gender balance of the
family. CSR does not regard aborting female
foetuses as a 'private' 'family' matter but
as an issue which has to be abolished with intense
'publicity'. To fight female foeticide we need
people of all ages to stand together against
it, and to enter into debate; giving a voice
to a silenced issue. Individuals can make a
difference.
STOP
SEX SELECTION. MAKE EQUALITY HAPPEN.
Join
the Stop Sex Selection community at
www.orkut.com
If
you are interested in becoming a university
or community volunteer, or for more information
about the campaign, please contact:
Kate
Futcher
or Vignesh
S
CENTRE
FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
2,
Nelson Mandela Marg,
Vasant
Kunj, New Delhi – 110070
Tel:
26899998, 26125583
Email:
stopsexselection@csrindia.org
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