Psychologists and social workers say the district administration’s move to conduct a month-long campaign against female infanticide will strengthen the work of Village Health Nurses. They also call for a sustained and prolonged efforts apart from the campaign, to address the issue.
Collector T. G. Vinay said on Sunday that officials of District Child Protection Unit and Health and Family Welfare department would provide counselling to parents of two or more girl children. The family would be educated on government schemes and incentives available for raising girl children.
Village Health Nurses are expected to explain maternity benefits available to mothers even outside of the campaign, says Madurai-based child psychologist and activist Rani Chakravarthy. Schemes like Dr. Muthulakshmi Maternity Benefit Scheme which provides optimal nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and Cradle Baby Scheme where children who cannot be raised by parents will be rehabilitated are novel initiatives by the State government.
“The role of a VHN is to ensure that she keeps tabs on antenatal women and explain the various benefits the State offered to them. With more officers from the government visiting homes of high order mothers, it might instil some confidence about raising the girl child. It will also instil a degree of fear and hence curb potential cases of infanticide,” she says.
Managing Trustee of Justice Shivaraj V. Patil Foundation S. Selva Gomathi says visited a number of villages over the years where cases of female infanticide were reported. “Women justify female infanticide because they do not want their daughters to undergo domestic violence, abuse and eve teasing - all issues that they have faced in their lives. Some others complain about gold prices increasing over the years. They fear that they may not be able to get their daughters married. To address these issues, we must ensure that we uproot these fears from them and the society that they live in,” she says.
The district administration must focus on prolonged efforts to address the skewed thinking in villages and towns prone to infanticide. “Mothers should have confidence that the State government will support them through growing-up years of the female child. A detailed outline of the State government’s support towards education of the girl child, employment opportunities and health will make an impact,” she says.