An Assignment

On

“An analysis of rights of girl child inBangladesh: realities,

resistance and legal issues”

Course Name: Gender and Law

Course

Code: 308

SUBMITTED TO:

Sabiha Yeasmin Rosy,

Lecturer,

Department of Women and Gender Studies,

University of Dhaka.

SUBMITTED BY:

Ali Ahsan Zonaed,

3rd Year, 6th Semester,

Session: 2010-11, ROLL-15,

Department of Women and Gender Studies,

University of Dhaka.

THE DATE OF SUBMISSION: 10th November, 2013.

Abstract

Attempts to build up the concepts and strategies of rights ofgirl child and human rights have been emerging over the past twodecades. An extensive range of people engaged in a number ofoften overlapping movements (such as women's health, humanrights, anti-violence, and reproductive rights) have activelyinitiated and participated in a process of trying to betterunderstand rights of girl child in the context of human rights.Reality is that our understanding of our body and self is shapedby a specific cultural, material, socioeconomic and politicalcontext. Discussions about these issues in internationalpolitical arenas have intersected with debates about women'shuman right. Progress in this issue of rights of girl child hasbeen possible through these debates. There are many laws enactedin our country to protect the rights of girl child and Bangladeshalso has signed many international treaties relating to theissues of girl child’s rights. The legal status of girl child,achievements and challenges will be the main focused topic ofdiscussion in this paper.

Table of Contents

Chapter – 1: Introduction

(a) Understanding of human rights(b) Definition of child(c) Why speaking for girl child’s rights?

Chapter – 2: Current status of girl child in Bangladesh

(a) Child labor(b) Child marriage(c) Dowry(d) Motherhood

(e) Nutrition(f) Acid assaults(g) Education(h) Emergencies

Chapter – 3: Causes associated with the violation of the rightsof girl child

(a) Son preference(b) Lack of education(c) Poverty(d) Child marriage(e) Socialization process

Chapter – 4: Different levels of intervention to protect rights of girl child

(a) International level(b) National level

Chapter – 5: Government initiatives: laws and policies

(a) Consciousness raising programmes for girl’s education

(b) Enactment of laws(c) Enforcement process of laws

Chapter – 6: Issues of girl child’s rights: challenges and achievements

(a) Limitations in laws(b) Success

Chapter – 7: Recommendations

(a) Recommendations for civil society(b) at legal level

Chapter – 8: Conclusion and references

Chapter-1 Introduction

Understanding of Human Rights

The term "human rights" refers to those rights that areconsidered universal to humanity, regardless of citizenship,residency status, ethnicity, gender, or other considerations.Today, human rights are more commonly viewed as basic to ouridentity as human beings; they are no longer typically framed inmonarchial or theological terms. The basic rights and freedoms,to which all humans are entitled, often held to include civil andpolitical rights, such as the right to life, liberty and freedomof expression, equality before the law; and social, cultural andeconomic rights including the right to participate in culture,the right to food, and the right to work and receive aneducation. Human rights are protected and upheld by internationaland national laws and treaties.

Who are child?

"Child means an individual, whether over or under the age ofmajority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support bythe individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be thebeneficiary of a support order directed to the parent."

Article 1For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means everyhuman being below the age

of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child,majority is attained earlier.

Thus, while the Convention defines a “child” as every human beingbelow the age of 18 years, it allows for minimum ages to be set,under different circumstances, balancing the evolving capacitiesof the child with the State’s obligation to provide specialprotection. Society began to relate to the child not as aminiature adult but as a person of a lower level of maturityneeding adult protection, love and nurturing.Traditionally Children in Bangladesh are grouped in threecategories: sishu – anybody under 5 years of age, balak orbalika- a child of 6 to 10 years and kishore or kishori – a childof age between 11 and 14.

Why speaking for girl child’s rights?

The very fact that the girl child has become a topic ofdiscussion and debate, points to the fact that, this is somethingdifferent to the other of the human species. The girls havealways and everywhere been considered to be lesser of the twobeings of the human species. Why this has come to be, is beyondour comprehension, but, the fact remains that, the girl has notonly been considered as the lesser, but has always been reallyneglected also. It can not be imagined how this situation cameinto being but, the sadder and more shocking situation is when,in the 20th century we call ourselves highly civilized, culturedand educated and all else, the girl still finds it more and moredifficult to subsist on this planet. This situation is a worldwide phenomenon, the difference being only in the degree ofsuppression of the girl. Even to-day we hear of crimes and ill

treatment of women. The girl child has always been derided, for,the very day of her birth in a family, is the day of the doom ofthe family, and so, automatically when this is the welcomeaccorded to her, what could be awaiting her for her to enjoythrough life.

Chapter-2 Current situation of girlchild in Bangladesh

Child Labor

There are 4.9 million working children aged 5 to 15 inBangladesh. With no acknowledgment of the needs of workingchildren and their families, and no access to education, it seemsthat children have little choice but to enter the labor marketfor little or no pay, and sometimes in hazardous conditions.

Child marriageChild marriage continues to be a major problem for especiallygirl children in today’s Bangladesh. The legal age of marriage is18 for girls, however three-quarters of women aged 20-49 weremarried before age 18. The practice of arranging child marriagesremains common, especially in rural areas and in urban slums.

According to The State of the World’s Children Report 2005,between the years 1986-2003, the rate of child marriage inBangladesh at the urban areas was 48 per cent, rural areas

70 per cent and in aggregate 65 per cent of the entire childpopulation.

Early marriage threatens girls’ education, mobility, healthand safety. A child bride usually drops out of school andbegins full time work in the home of her husband’s parents,where she often lacks bargaining power and may be reduced tothe status of a bonded laborer.

DowryAlthough the practice is illegal, it is common for the bride’sfamily to pay a dowry to the family of the groom. There isevidence that the practice of dowry is becoming more common.

In one study, women aged 46-60 reported that dowry waspractically non-existent when they married, while 46% ofwomen aged 15-25 reported that they had to pay dowry.

Dowry paying is more common in poorer sections of society,and it also reinforces poverty because it often rendersfamilies destitute.

MotherhoodBangladesh also has one of the world’s highest rates ofadolescent motherhood-

One in three women starts childbearing before age 18. Whilethe number of births to adolescent mothers has reduced byalmost one quarter in the past 18 years, the pace of declineis very slow, and adolescent motherhood remains common inrural areas.

Young motherhood is associated with several risks such ashigher maternal mortality rates, pregnancy complications andlow birth weight babies.

Patriarchal norms and structures make it difficult forwomen, and particularly younger women, to refuse sex or

insist on using birth control. They are thus exposed topremature pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

NutritionGirls are slightly more likely to be stunted and underweight fortheir age, compared to boys of the same age14. Inadequate intakeof food and poor diet are the primary causes of malnutrition.

Anemia is a severe public health problem which isexperienced by 30 per cent of adolescent girls (compared to26 per cent of adolescent boys). Anemia lowers immunity andreduces growth, learning ability, work capacity,productivity, and birth weight. Girls also have lower levelsof iodine than boys, as measured by urinary iodineexcretion.

Nationally, 37 per cent of girls are iodine deficient,compared with 31 per cent of boys. While iodine is crucialfor the cognitive development of a growing fetus, more thanone third of pregnant women are iodine deficient16.

Acid Assaults

Acid assaults are another prevalent form of violence thatmay well be a phenomenon unique to Bangladesh. Acid attacksusually occur when men want to take revenge for the refusalof proposals for sex or marriage, or when demands for dowryare not met or when there is a political clash. Bangladeshhas the highest worldwide incidence of acid violence and,acid burns constitute 9% of the total burn injuries inBangladesh.

Acid violence involves throwing acid at a person's body todisfigure and scar the person for life. A recent studyreveals that land disputes account for 27% of acid attacks,followed by 18% for family disputes, 10% for refusal of sex,

8% for refusal of romantic relationship, 5% for dowryconflicts, 4% for marital disputes, 3% for refusal ofmarriage proposal, 2% for political enmity, and theremaining 23% for unknown reasons.

Since May 1999, there have been almost 3000 reported casesof acid throwing, the vast majority against girls and women,however many cases remain unreported.

Sadly, suicide is also common among girls aged between 14and 17. The Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey reportedthat more than 2200 children, including about 1500 girls,committed suicide in 2004.

Education There are well-documented arguments about the benefits ofeducation for girls for both girls themselves but also for theirfamilies and society. Nonetheless, a significant gender gap inschool enrolment persists, particularly at the higher levels ofeducation. Gender-based barriers to facing girls include domesticresponsibilities, such as household chores and care for siblings.Early pregnancy also affects school attendance and completion insome countries, particularly where girls are not able to continueschooling or resume after childbirth. Sexual abuse and violencein schools also place limits on girls’ education.

EmergenciesWomen and children are particularly vulnerable during emergenciessuch as natural disasters, which are unfortunately a commonoccurrence in Bangladesh. Women’s restricted decision makingpower and mobility puts them at increased risk of injury or deathduring cyclones or floods.

For instance, an astonishing 90 per cent of the deaths inBangladesh’s 1991 cyclone were among women. Protectionissues also often arise after natural disasters, because

normal care mechanisms break down and women and children maynot have the security offered by their usual shelter. Thesefactors can put women at increased risk of violence, rape,abuse and trafficking.

For instance, after the 1998 floods, there was an increasein the number of girls moving to Dhaka to become sexworkers.

Chapter-3 Causes associated with the violationof the rights of girl child

Son preference

Son preference is defined as the preference of parents for malechildren, which often manifested itself in neglect, deprivationor discriminatory treatment of girls to the detriment of theirphysical and mental health. Son preference is highlighted infamily nutrition, health care patterns, education and age ofmarriage, recreation and development of the child. Son preferenceaffects girl child in many countries, particularly in Asia. Itsconsequences can be anything from fetal or female infanticide toneglect of the girl child over her brother in terms of suchessential needs as nutrition, basic health care and education.

Lack of Education:

Women in our society are not only economically dependent on malebut they do not have much control over their lives. Lack ofeducation makes girl child more vulnerable. Though studies showthat years of schooling is inversely associated with prevalenceof violence, however, no statement could be made how and whyeducation or years of schooling has a role in reducing violence.It could be assumed that greater years of schooling may providewith an opportunity to gain knowledge and information which girlsoften lack and as a result become more vulnerable.

Poverty

General or overall economic causes of family violence areconsidered to be increasing landlessness, pauperization,unemployment which has increased the stress and tension in male-female relations in the poor households and give rise todesertion, divorce and violation of girl child’s rights. Ananalysis in recent study (Khan et al, 1998) on violencereiterated the strong relationship between family violence andpoverty.

Child Marriage

This practice continues to be widespread despite the existence ofthe Child Marriage Restraint Act since 1983. A girl child isdeemed as a burden to poor parents. In the marriage market theyounger the bride, lesser the dowry demand. Parents’ fear fortheir daughters’ security, especially when she is an adolescentand capable of conceiving a child out of wedlock, becomes areason for marrying them off early. When a young single girlbecomes pregnant not only does she stand to be condemned by hercommunity (in some cases she becomes the subject of fatwa’s), her

parents and family are also punished with social isolation andshaming. Cultural stigmatization of sex outside of marriageactually puts the family honor at stake. All these reasons makeit impracticable to enforce the legal provision against childmarriage. Although the State has enacted then law it has taken noother steps to counter the valuation of young girls as sexualobjects and thus the practice of overvaluing younger women asbrides continues.

Socialization Process

Girls and boys are brought up through discriminatorysocialization processes that result in an unequal powerrelationship in their adulthood. This socialization process alsomakes women helpless, deprived and disfranchised as a group. Onthe other hand abuse of girls was not really considered as crimesas appeared from discussion with men during Rapid AssessmentStudy on violence (Naripokkho, 1998).

Chapter-4 Different levels of interventions toprotect rights of girl child

International levelAt international level, several conventions and declarationsexist that recognize women's human rights. Following is a short

review (adopted from the WHO Information Pack on Violence againstWomen) of international texts and resolutions, that are importantin the fight against violence against women. To have an overviewof countries in developing countries that ratified theseinternational covenants, declarations etc. we refer to theliterature-

1948: Universal Declaration of Human Rights: this declarationhas formed the basis for the development of internationalhuman rights conventions. Any form of violence against womenviolates the principles of this Declaration.

1979: Convention on the Elimination of all forms ofDiscrimination Against Women: is the most extensiveinternational instrument dealing with the rights of women. In1992, the Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women (CEDAW) which monitors the implementation ofthis Convention formally included gender-based violence undergender-based discrimination.

1993 Vienna, United Nations World Conference on Human Rights:recognized women's rights as human rights and defined the useof violence as a violation of human rights. Gender violence isviolence that jeopardizes fundamental rights, individualfreedom and women's physical integrity.

1993: the UN General Assembly issued a ‘declaration on theElimination of Violence against women’: recalling relevantprinciples adopted by the UN and by the World Conference onHuman Rights relating to the elimination of gender-basedviolence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitationand to human rights and equal rights of men and women.

1995 Fourth World Conference on Women - Beijing: During thisUN conference on women, the role of violence in the lives ofwomen and girls received tremendous attention. The Platformfor action from the Beijing Conference notes that violenceagainst women is a significant obstacle to achieving equality,development and peace and underscored the obligations of

governments to combat violence against women as a priority.The Conference called on States to recognize the vulnerabilityto violence of women belonging to groups such as refugees,displaced persons, migrants and persons with disabilities.

1997, Resolution 1997/44 of the Commission on Human Rights:this resolution again condemned all acts of VAW and emphasizedthat governments have the duty to refrain from engaging inviolence against women and to prevent, investigate and punishacts of violence against women.

National level

The Penal Code of Bangladesh contains provisions that protectwomen from various forms of violence, although it does notspecifically define 'sexual assault'. However, offences relatedto rape, kidnapping, abduction of women, acid throwing or attemptto cause death or grievous injury because of dowry are treated asspecific crimes of serious nature. The Penal Code prescribescapital punishment for kidnapping, abduction, acid throwing andrape.

The government promulgated a number of laws reflecting theprovisions of the Penal Code with some modifications necessary toaddress the specific crimes, including the following:

Dowry Prohibition Act 1980 and its amendment in 1986 makedowry practice an offence punishable by fine andimprisonment.

Prevention of Women and Child Repression Act 2000 providesfor effective and efficient way of dealing with cases ofviolence against women such as rape, acid attacks, forcedprostitution and trafficking.

The Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act 1933 provides fordetention of women under 18 years of age if found in a placewhere prostitution is being carried out.

The Family Court Ordinance 1985 provides for the exclusivejurisdiction of the court on matters relating to marriage,dowry, maintenance and guardianship, and custody ofchildren.

The Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance 1983amends relevant section of the Penal Code and provides thepenalty of life imprisonment for kidnapping, abduction,trafficking in women, cruelty because of dowry, and rape aswell as abetment of such offenses.

Trafficking in Women and Children Act 1993 provides amaximum penalty of up to three years for forced prostitutionand its abetment.

Recently the government enacted a law primarily to restrictimport and sale of acid in open market and death penalty foracid attack offences.

A law has recently been enacted to address the issue ofsexual harassment in the workplace.

Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have prepared aguideline to be followed by universities to protect women-students from sexual harassment.

The government has also signed the SAARC Convention onPreventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children.

The government created a permanent Law Commission to review alllaws related to protection of women's rights and to providerecommendations wherever required. The Ministry on Women andChildren Affairs has undertaken multispectral projects toeliminate violence against women including setting up One-StopCrisis Centers (OSCC) in Dhaka and Rajshahi Medical CollegeHospitals mainly to help acid-throwing and rape victims securequick Formal Investigation Record (FIR) and other services. Inaddition, some police stations have Special Cell for Women. Atthe national, district and thana levels, Committees for thePrevention of Violence against Women have been formed. Violence

prevention cells also exist in the Department of Women's Affairsand the Jatiyo Mahila Sangastha. Shelter homes for abused andtortured women and for women under safe custody have also beenestablished both by the government and NGOs - though far tooinadequate to meet the needs.

Chapter-5 Government initiatives to protectgirl child’s rights

Five ministries and their associated departments provideconsiderable social assistance for women and children: Ministryof Women and Children Affairs (MWCA); Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare (MHFW); Ministry of Social Welfare (MSW); Ministryof Education; and Ministry of Local Government (LGD).

Consciousness raising programmes for girl’s education

Bangladesh Government including UNICEF implemented in 61,072schools in all 64 districts. The programme includes initiativesthat aim to raise community awareness about the need for girls’education. Campaigns are conducted through mass media, nationaland sub national education events, interactive popular theatre,

TV drama series about quality education, cartoons promotingUNICEF's animated girl-hero Meena and printed materials.Moreover, there have arrangements of extensive scholarshipprogrammes and free education opportunities for girls.

Enactment of laws

Government has enacted some laws to protect girl child’s rightsas follows-

a) Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 (as Amendment in 1984). TheAct defines the terms, ‘child and minors’, meaning a person undertwenty one years of age in case of male and under eighteen yearsof age in case of female. The Act also describes the punishmentfor male adult above twenty one years of age or female adultabove eighteen years of age contracting a child marriage shall bepunishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to onemonth, or with fine which may extend to one thousand taka or withboth.

b) The enactment of Dowry Prohibition Act of 1980 (Act No. XXXVof 1980), later amended by the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment)Ordinance, 1982 (Ordinance No. XLIV of 1982) - this act had beenenacted to prohibit the taking or giving of dowry in marriage. Ifany person after the commencement of this act gives or takesdowry, his punishment will be five years’ imprisonment or notless than one year or will be fined.

c) The Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance 1983.This ordinance is special law providing for deterrent punishmentto the offences of cruelty to women. This ordinance includesoffences like kidnapping, trafficking, dowry death and torture,rape etc. The offences under this ordinance shall be tried bycriminal courts.

d) The Family Court Ordinance, 1985 (Ordinance No. xviii of1985). It was an ordinance to provide for the establishment ofFamily Courts at the district and thana level. It extends to thewhole of Bangladesh except the districts of Rangamati Hill Tract,Bandarban Hill Tract and Khagrachari Hill Tract. The Family Courtshall have exclusive jurisdiction to entertain, try and disposeof any suit relating to, or arising out of , all or any of thefollowing matters, namely;i) Dissolution of marriage.ii) Restitution of conjugal rights.iii) Dower.iv) Maintenance.v) Guardianship and custody of children.

e) Prevention of Repression of Women and Children Act 2000replaced the Repression of Women and Children (Special Enactment)Act 1995. The Act defines, court, rape, Dowry, Women, Children,Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, High Court Division andimportance of such laws. This law also describes punishment ofvarious offences. It provides for Special Courts for the casescoming under the Act. The offences are considered to be non-bailable (with certain exceptions). The 2000 Act compared to the1995 Special Enactment has included three new forms of violenceto be considered as offences: sexual harassment, media coverageof the victim and filing of false cases under the Act.

Enforcement process of laws

The Government of Bangladesh in 1993 has set up a cell, called“Nari Nirjaton Protirodh Cell”, within the Police Headquarter, totake specific cases and complaints involving violence againstwomen Similarly the Home Ministry set up another cell as a pilotbasis called “Women’s Investigation Cell” at Mirpur specifically

to deal with violence committed against women as well asmonitoring such offences/complaints within Mirpur area. After thepilot project, until now approximately 26 women’s investigationcells have been set up, initially as per the old district areas,and further are planned (Naripokkho, 1998a).

There are Special Courts established under the Women and ChildrenOppression act to try the offences like: i) death and grievoushurt by erosive, poisonous or corrosive substance, ii) rape, iii)dowry (death and grievous), iv) trafficking and v) kidnappingand abduction. The 2000 Act provides for setting up of specialcourts one in each district.

Moreover, there are special tribunals also. These courts are setup under a special status called the Special Powers Act 1974. In1983 there was another ordinance as mentioned before, to controloppression and violence against women called “Cruelty to Women(Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance”. Under this Ordinance offenceslike kidnapping, trafficking, dowry death and torture, rape etc.are being tried in special tribunal courts governed by theSpecial Powers Act 1974. These courts have the power to givedeath sentences, which should be confirmed by the High CourtDivision of the Supreme Court.

Chapter – 6 Issues of girl child’s rights: challenges and achievements

Limitations in laws-

Improper implement of laws:As mentioned earlier, the Government has enacted several lawsspecifically for elimination of violence against women whichincludes Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act 1980, the Cruelty to WomenLaw 1983 and the Women Repression Act of 1995. However,enforcement of these laws is very weak, especially in ruralareas. Moreover, the Government seldom prosecutes those casesthat are filed.

Application of punishments:It appears that many people remain unaware about the DowryProhibition Act despite legal awareness programmes undertaken byseveral legal aid NGOs. In dowry cases where punishment isawarded to husbands who are the recipients of the dowry, it hasbeen observed that in most cases punishments are not executed.The reason for this is trials are held in the absence of theaccused and the man is rarely arrested.

Gaps in the Definition of Rape:Often the narrow definition of some violence hampers survivorsform getting justice. For instance, in case of rape, malestandards are used not only to judge men but also to judge theconduct of women victims. Recently some Commonwealth countieshave changed the definition of rape. Also there is no provisionfor “marital rape” in Bangladesh law.

Limitations in the Women and Child Repression Act:The Act only specifies certain forms of violence and providespenalties for those. In doing so, the Act bypass or exclude manyother forms of aggression that affect women and children inBangladesh. As a result, case can not be filed under this act asthey do not fall within the purview of this Act (Khair and Begum,1997). The age of consent for sexual relations has been definedas 14 but the age of marriage is 18. In a society where sexual

relations outside marriage are not recognized socially, thiscauses problems. Also since all births are not registered thereis a possibility of the girl’s guardians not respecting herconsent. On the other hand the perpetrators would try to showthat she was of the age of consent. The Act also provides formaintenance to the child born out of a rape to be provided by therapist. This is criticized since it makes the mother, the victim,beholden to the rapist for the rest of her life for themaintenance of her child.

Bangladesh Government: Success to what extent?

Child mortality: The under- five mortality rate has beenreduced from 146 in 1991 to 53.8 in 2008.

Nutrition: The percentage of children who are under-weightdropped from 66 per cent in 1990 to 45 per cent in 2009.However, most of the improvements took place in thenineties, while there is hardly any progress since 2005.Further, 16 per cent of all children are reported asseverely stunted.

Education: While net enrolment in primary school has risenfrom 60.5 per cent in 1991 to 91.9 per cent in 2008, thereis limited progress in the retention rate to grade 5: theincrease has been from 43 per cent in 1991 to 54. 9 per centin 2008.

Child labour: The total number of working children between5-17 years is 7.42 million. While other South Asiancountries have been able to reduce the trend of child labourthis has not been the case for Bangladesh.

Chapter-7 Recommendations

Recommendations for civil society

A welfare system that takes care of unemployed and the lessprivileged would help offset the powerlessness that comes witheconomic impoverishment and that encourages domestic violencein developing countries.

The power of the media (TV, radio, theatre plays, popularcommunication tools, etc.) can be harnessed to change normsand values around gender roles and violence. Media campaignsshould however, be aware of sensationalizing the issue ofviolence against girl child.

At the national level there is a need to have a co-coordinating group/institution which develops an overview ofthe situation, including current responses and actors tofacilitate sub-national activity and relates them to generalactivities.

Distribution of financial and other resources for communitybased programmes and NGO's that have long been addressing theneeds of girl child, must be supported.

Training and sensitization for professionals from theeducational, social and health sector should be supported.

Community wide prevention programmes should be linked (e.g.health care workers, law enforcement agencies, and familyviolence programs).

Where appropriate, shelters should be evaluated and moreshelters should be opened to assist women who are willing toleave abusive relationships.

Recommendations at legal level

Governments should ratify the relevant human rights treatiesand conventions and translate these into national laws so thatthere is an appropriate framework to support actions toprotect rights of girl child.

Law enforcement and prosecution are necessary, in order forthe judicial system to combat violence against girl child.

Discriminatory laws for women should be reviewed and reformed. Advocacy is needed for a specific law on the issues of girl

child’s rights. Legal procedures should be simplified to make them accessible

for illiterate women. Training and sensitization is needed at all levels of the

judicial system. The state should ensure to provide free legal aid for poor

women.

Chapter-8 Conclusion andreferences

However, regarding certain aspects that are deeply rooted in thecommunity, and compounded by historical poverty and vulnerable

socio-economic conditions, there is a gap between laws and theirenforcement. For example, child labor is a fact that exists inour country, and in spite of our consistent efforts, childmarriages are still prevalent. The Government has alreadyinitiated action to review and amend the laws pertaining to rapeand sexual consent, so as to remove any discrepancy between girlsand boys.

The girl child who has still now been an object of disgust, hateand wrath should become an object of care and nurturing. This canhappen only if and when both women and men develop an attitudinalchange, and realize the fact that, the girl is also as much of ahuman being as the boy, with her own desires and aspirations andcapacities. She should not be treated as a mere item ofpossession but taken as an equal partner in the country’sdestiny. Only when this happens can a country take a truerecourse to progress.

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