• Sujal Pradhan, NET Correspondent, Sikkim 

As the country prepares to commemorate ‘National Girl Child’ Day on January 24, let us take a look at the success story of the centrally-sponsored scheme ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) in the northeastern state of Sikkim.

The Union Government launched the BBBP scheme on January 22, 2015, to address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR), which is calculated in terms of – number of girls for every 1000 boys between the ages of 0 and 6 years, with an all-time low of 918 in 2011 from 976 in 1961. Under this scheme, a total of 100 gender critical districts in the country were chosen, including the North district of Sikkim.

North Sikkim which ranked among top ten districts in the country will be felicitated consecutively for two years for its exemplary performance under BBBP Scheme.

The overall goal of BBBP is to celebrate the girl child and enable her proper education, upholding objectives such as – Prevention of gender bias and its elimination, to ensure survival and protection of the girl child and to ensure education of the girl child.

During the occasion of National Girl Child Day celebrations held in New Delhi on January 24, 2017, the then Union Minister for WCD felicitated the North District for ensuring effective community engagement in implementation of the scheme. Again, on the occasion of the third Anniversary of BBBP on March 8th, 2018, concerned district was awarded for its exemplary performance in effective community engagement under BBBP by PM Narendra Modi. This National award function was held at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.

In order to generate an effective community engagement to realize the goal of the scheme, girls are provided with a platform to showcase their talent in sports, thereby encouraging them to pursue sports as a career.

Functions to mark specific days and events dedicated to the Girl Child are held regularly in the North District. Panchayat, Public and District officials are regularly involved in celebrating Beti JanMahotsav, International and National Women’s Day, Breastfeeding Week, ICDS Week and Children’s Day, Girl Child Day and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Week.

The success of BBBP in Sikkim has also been witnessed due to the following achievements : 4 Block-level Child Protection Committees formed in all the four blocks; 25 village-level Child Protection Committees constituted in the GPUs and Dzomsa; 100% institutional delivery ensured for the expecting mothers; effective steps undertaken for reporting Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases and 100% birth registration have been ensured.

Furthermore, other districts of Sikkim also celebrate various events dedicated to the Girl Child. Different mass awareness and sensitization programmes on women and child welfare schemes are spearheaded during these celebrations.