The Hindu : Boys and girls are crusaders in Usilampatti

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Boys and girls are crusaders in Usilampatti

By S. Annamalai

USILAMPATTI DEC. 25. Having achieved a consistent zero death rate among female infants in the last three years in its area of operation, the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) has now redefined its strategy to make its `Girl Child Project' a people's movement. The reorientation exercise is to enable the people carry on the fight against the heinous practice without outside help. In addition to 224 self-help groups (SHGs) for women formed in the Usilampatti taluk of Madurai district, the ICCW hopes to have brigades of young men and women on the frontline in the war on female infanticide.

The federation of SHGs, formed at the panchayat level, now monitors pregnant mothers and keeps a watchful eye against the killing of newborns. But more vocal will be the young boys and girls who have been trained to eradicate gender bias in villages. Over 1,100 adolescent girls and 300 boys have completed an "attitudinal change programme" offered by the ICCW at its Matharai centre near Usilampatti.

The five training modules for the girls cover health and hygiene, rights of women, legislation, career guidance and vocational training. The six training modules for the boys discuss the problems of youth, leadership qualities, youth movements, gender education, confidence building and entrepreneurship development.

For the ICCW, roping in the boys was a risky decision. At the implementation stage itself, the `Girl Child Project' confronted a hostile youth brigade in the villages, recalls Valli Annamalai, joint secretary. The project leaders and volunteers who visited the villages were teased and threatened. However, these incidents are now confined to memory. The adolescents of 17 villages in the Usilampatti block are now ICCW's partners, working for the welfare of girl children. The boys were basically made to realise the importance of gender equality and of the girl child in the family, recalled one of the participants in the attitudinal change programme, which concluded recently. The girls, in the age group 13-18 years, exude self-confidence and self-assurance.

The veil of shyness has been lifted after they participated in the programme and they have donned the mantle of crusaders against a practice, which had a "social sanction". Each participant had a success story to tell - of preventing female infanticide in the neighbourhood.

Ms. Valli Annamalai is confident that the ICCW can even withdraw from the area as the people have realised that female infanticide is their problem and they have to eradicate it collectively.

The adolescent girls and boys and the SHGs have joined hands to monitor the incidence in all villages.

The `participatory rural appraisal method' has paid rich dividends so far.

The number of high risk areas identified by the ICCW (where more than two deaths were reported in a family in a year) came down from 85 in 1990-97 to zero in 2001-03.

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