Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Mar 9: Saiha District in Mizoram has been selected among 100 districts from across India for launching the Government of India’s National Programme “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” (Save Girl-child, Educate Girl-child) which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22 this year.
Disclosing this, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there could have been no better Women’s Day initiative than this for the underdeveloped region of Northeast. He said, this is also an indication of the high priority and concern that the Narendra Modi Government has for peripheral States of Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. In addition, the decision is also motivated by a progressive decline in the number of girls in the region, he observed. However, he hastened to add, unlike in other parts of the country, the dwindling number of girls in Northeast is not only the result of female foeticide but also due to high incidence of infant mortality rate.
Complimenting the Maraland Autonomous District Council and its Chief Executive Member R.T.Zachono for having formally flagged off medical teams to cover rural areas of the region under the scheme, Dr Jitendra Singh hoped that the example will be followed by others as well and soon, people across the country will begin to “Look East” for inspiration in matters of women empowerment.
Dr Jitendra Singh said Northeast is endowed with rich cultural and vocational heritage, and women folk in the region have always worked shoulder to shoulder with their men peers in every sphere of life. Therefore, grooming the girl child and empowering women can, in fact, prove a great asset for overall development of the region, he added.
Unlike in some of the more developed states of the country, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Northeastern States suffer from a dearth of appropriate avenues for higher education. As a result, while the boys travel to other parts of the country for higher education, the number of girls travelling out is lesser which adds to lower rate of higher education among women, he said. To that extent, the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” programme will help to create awareness regarding literacy among women in the region, he added.
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