Press Release Need to change the patriarchal mindset of the society in Haryana to check declining sex ratio- Centre for Social Research Centre for Social Research continues fight against female foeticide in Gurgaon and Manesar Delhi NCR, August 27, 2014: In order to brainstorm on strategies to curb gender biased sex selection in Gurgaon & Manesar, Centre for Social Research (CSR) today organized an interface workshop at the Mini Secretariat, Gurgaon. The workshop was organized as part of CSR and German Embassy’s much celebrated project –“Meri Shakti Meri Beti” and witnessed an overwhelming participation of grass root level health workers, community members, DC, City Magistrate, PRO, CMO, Nodal Officer & CDPO of Gurgaon and other officials concerned for the implementation of PC/PNDT Act in the district. The industrial regions of Gurgaon & Manesar in the state of Haryana, have an extremely low child sex ratio of 830 girls per 1000 boys (Census Report 2011) and the region is highly stratified across the economic spectrum, with a high-earning urban professional class and a large and growing population of rural migrants from surrounding regions. To address the issue of sex selection as it manifests in these two distinct socio-economic contexts, the project aims to carry out formation of twenty Chetna Mandalies among community members and stakeholders. The highly interactive meeting today witnessed several community members sharing their first hand experience of dealing with cases relating to sex selective abortions in Haryana. “The MSMB project which was earlier being implemented in Delhi has begun yielding results as there has been a slight improvement in the child sex ratio from 895 to 915 per 1000 boys. However, the sad news is that many instances of sex-selective abortions are still coming to light with simultaneous decline in the sex-ratio of 0-6 year age group in affluent states like Haryana and Punjab who have witnessed Green Revolution. There is an urgent need to curb and reverse this trend to save the human race, and CSR will take up every step towards that direction,” emphasizes Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director, CSR. Talking about the involvement of the German Embassy in MSMB project Fredric Erdt, Political &Protocol Affairs, German Embassy says, “We are supporting CSR in the fight against gender biased sex selection because we believe in protecting human rights and women’s rights automatically become an important part of it. The social inequality in India is very apparent and therefore it is important that the country progresses by empowering both men and women equally while becoming economically developed.” Stressing on the need to involve Panchayat leaders in order to curb sex selective abortions in Haryana villages Sekhar Vidyarthi, DC, Gurgaon says, “Although it is important to involve community women, anganwadi workers and ASHA workers to sensitise the community, the active involvement of Panchayat leaders is equally crucial to influence the mindsets of people living in these villages. Also, in order to stop the practice of sex determination in clinics, more sting operations should be performed on doctors/quacks so that those who are responsible are severely punished for the crime,” Highlighting the importance of PC & PNDT Act and the social repercussions of sex-selective abortions CSR’s Head of Research Division and the Project Coordinator Dr. Manasi Mishra pointed out “Society is already facing a serious crisis due to shortage of girls, as there has been a significant rise in violence against girls and women in the last few years. The problem will be out of control if we do not check

more incidences of sex-selective abortions and serial elimination of girl children. To successfully address this issue of female foeticide, the status of women in Haryana needs to rise and for that we need to change the patriarchal mindset of the society.” About Meri Shakti Meri Beti project: After the successful implementation of Meri Shakti Meri Beti project in Delhi for the last couple of years, the much celebrated project is now being implemented in the industrial regions of Gurgaon & Manesar. The project implemented by Centre for Social Research (CSR) & supported by the German Embassy, aims at addressing gender biased sex-selection, replicating best practices in combating sex-selective abortion and mend the gap in the regional approach to sex selection by coordinating cross-jurisdictional programming. The project functions through the participatory approach with the community members and also the stakeholders who are: State level, District Level and Block Level Functionaries, MLAs/MPs, Panchayat Heads, Community Leaders, Religious Leaders, Participants from the High Risk Communities, NGOs and INGOs, Community Based Organizations, Schools, Colleges and School Children and teachers/principals. They were sensitized through session plans for gender sensitization training, reading material on understanding gender, brief on PC/PNDT Act and situation in India on Pre-natal Sex Selection, etc. CSR will be undertaking special innovative programmes with school and college students, as they are message bearers of tomorrow, in the form of essay writing and debate competitions, signature campaigns, etc. In the last few months, CSR has already held several Community Watch Group meetings in the villages namely Daulatabad, Bajghera, Harijan Basti at DLF V, Jharsa, Nanukulan, Kadarpur, Kherla, Khwaspur, Janaula & Sidhrawali. The workshop today provided participants a platform for proper dissemination of messages against the pre-natal sex selection and provision of PC & PNDT Act.

For more details, contact: Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research: 9810054264 Shreshtha Kumar, Poly Laskar (Communicators India) M: 9873077438, Email: [email protected]