The Hindu : New Delhi News : Every second woman in Haryana is anaemic: NCW

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Every second woman in Haryana is anaemic: NCW

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 14. Women in Haryana continue to be subordinated, subjugated and deprived as suggested by the extremely low and declining sex ratio, high level of anaemia among women and children and prevalent violence against women. The position with regard to mortality rates of women and the girl child is no better as Haryana ranks a lowly 10th of the 16 States for which Gender Development Index is available.

A report on "A Situation Analysis of Women and Girls in Haryana'' brought out by the National Commission for Women (NCW) said Haryana's affluence was not reflected in the gender relations scenario. It ranks 30th of the 35 States and Union Territories in the case of sex ration which is only 861. Though it has made rapid progress in the field of female literacy which has risen by almost five times in the past four decades by the gender gap remains high.

On the health front, Haryana has a high total fertility rate but every second woman suffers from anaemia besides a higher prevalence of anaemia among children. Also, women in Haryana has been virtually unrepresented in Parliament and have made a nominal representation in the Legislative Assembly. They have, however, started coming up in local bodies but are still rubber stamps of their husbands.

Releasing the report, the NCW chairperson, Poornima Advani, said these facts and figures presented a very gloomy picture of the status of women in Haryana. Nevertheless, it is also essential to emphasise that the Haryana Government has initiated a number of measures aimed at improving the status of women. These include innovative schemes such as Apni Beti Apna Dhan, Devi Rakshak Yojana and Devi Rupak Yojana which are supposed to stem the declining sex ratio as well as provide financial help to destitute women, incentives for promoting educational status of the girl child including mid-day meals and free cycles to girls where schools are situated at some distance, and free uniforms. While some of these schemes have shown results, others are still in their infancy, the report points out.

Ms Advani expressed concern over some recent decisions of the Panchayats on social matters and the alleged purchase of young girls from others States into Haryana due to declining sex ratio. Caste considerations come into play and even the self-help groups are divided on the basis of caste. "The SHGs work under the shadow of men who are curious and suspicious of what the womenfolk are doing. Similarly, son preference is so strong that quacks have resorted to advertising that they can guarantee the birth of a son. One such advertisment titled `Putra Daata Aushadalaya' in Yamunanagar bore a testimony to this,'' the report says.

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