It’s 2024. The age of digital advancement, global connectivity, and all-round progress. Yet, India’s girl child struggles to grow up amidst oppression and patriarchal mindsets. Despite efforts being made by the Government – such as the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana – there is still a lot to be done. For starters, just being aware of the legal rights of a girl child and creating awareness about them can do a lot to mitigate discrimination and injustice.
Preventing Female Foeticide
Even before she’s born, the life of a girl is at risk, based solely on her gender. According to 2020 statistics by the UN World Population Prospects, India had 108.18 men for every 100 women. As society sets the expectation for a male child, parents and extended family resort to female foeticide.
‘In the early ‘90s, it was common for gender diagnosis to be made during ultrasounds and scans in a pregnancy,’ explains gynaecologist Dr Kadambari Nath. ‘This diagnosis was gradually misused to conduct sex-selective abortions. And so, the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act was passed in 1994. According to this Act, scans can be used only to inform prospective parents about abnormalities and disorders. It is punishable if the doctor or clinic reveals the gender of the child anytime during the pregnancy. In 2003, the Act was amended to cover pre-conception sex selection and also provide more stringent punishment. It is now known as the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act. Gender determination is a no-no from both the doctor’s side, as well as the parents’. Punishment includes imprisonment for upto three years, and a fine of ₹10,000. In this way, we are able to somewhat prohibit selective sex abortion.”
Educating The Girl Child
To learn and receive an education is every child’s fundamental right. However, there is still a significant gender gap and girls lag far behind in the educational opportunities that have been given to boys. Challenges in rural areas include safety, access to clean restrooms and hygienic sanitation, and the burden of household chores. In many homes, the girl child is still considered a burden, who will eventually leave her parents’ home. Those with traditional mindsets believe a girl’s role is to get married and run a home, therefore education is entirely unnecessary.
Recognising that this gap needs to be plugged, the Government passed the RTE or Right to Education in 2009, which makes it compulsory for all children – regardless of gender – to obtain an education between the ages of 6 and 14. According to the Ministry of Education, ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.’
Preventing Child Marriage
According to a survey by Plan International, an organisation that works with children and girls, more than 40 per cent of the world’s child marriages take place in India. In rural India almost 56 per cent of girls marry before 18, and in urban India the percentage is lower – though significant – at 29 per cent.
Child marriage in India has been recognised as a punishable offence since 1929, since it deprives minors of their childhood and opportunities to study and grow. However, this earlier Child Marriage Restraint Act allowed for women to be married at age 14 and men at age 18. This practice continued and was rampant across the country well into the 21st century. To amend it, in 2006, the Government of India enacted the Prevention of Child Marriage Act. A ‘child’ in this situation, is described as a male who hasn’t completed 21 years or a female who hasn’t yet reached 18 years. The new Act not only prohibits child marriage, but also has provision to protect victims and provide relief to them. It also enhances punishment for those who initiate, abet or solemnise such marriages.
Providing Juvenile Justice
In an ideal world, children wouldn’t commit crimes. Unfortunately, there are mistakes made, and minors cannot be held to the same severity of punishment as adults. Lawyer Dr Karthik Krishnakumar says, ‘Boys account for the larger number of juvenile crimes and also more severe ones, yet the punishment meted out to juvenile girls in India remains equal. There is also the tendency to sexualise juvenile crimes carried out by girls, and impose harsher consequences for delinquencies such as underage drinking. This is partially due to the patriarchal mindset that boys will be boys, but girls need to behave a certain way.’
In 2015, the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act defined ‘child’ as someone who hasn’t completed 18 years of age. Under the Act, girl and boy delinquents have to be treated the same way, and there are also systems in place to ensure they are given aid and counselling rather than punishment. There are also categories that establish consequences – petty offences, serious offences and heinous crimes.
Inheriting Property
Although a daughter cannot inherit property directly in her own name until she turns 18, her entitlement to it begins from the day of her birth. Dr Karthik says, ‘Property laws in India are complex, and often hinge on various factors. However, today there is no embargo on a daughter’s ability to inherit and hold or dispose of property as she deems fit. Let us keep it simple - The Hindu Succession Act of 2005 (which also applies to Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs) says that sons and daughters are equally entitled to their father’s ancestral property without any discrimination whatsoever. However, self-acquired property can be bequeathed to whoever one likes. Christian women also are able to receive an equal share of the property, as it is equally divided between every heir, regardless of gender. Muslim girls on the other hand can inherit only half as much as each of their male counterparts or brothers.’
Now these laws and provisions are in place to ensure the rights of the girl child are adequately protected. But it doesn’t mean that they are always followed to the letter. There is significant work to be done before we can achieve complete compliance.