CHANDIGARH: In a unique initiative, the former sarpanch of Bibipur village in Jind district of Haryana, Sunil Jaglan, who launched the 'selfie with daughter' initiative, has now kicked off a similar campaign exclusively for single women.
Jaglan, the father of two daughters, has carried out drives in the past against female foeticide. He shot into the limelight after his efforts to save the girl child invited praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann ki baat’ programme.
Speaking to this correspondent, Jaglan said, "When I started the 'selfie with daughter' drive after being inspired by the movie Bajrangi Bhaijan, I did not realise that it would turn into such a successful exercise. More than one lakh selfies have been uploaded so far on our online museum. But it came to light that 95 per cent of them were put up by men. Therefore, now we have kicked off a campaign only for women who can post or upload a selfie with their daughter at www.selfiewithdaughter.world or with the hashtag #selfiewithdaughter. In the last three days, we have got 396 selfies of single women with their daughters, of which 250 have come from the Northeast. Single women from Haryana have called us but are hesitant to send selfies due to societal and family pressure.’’
He said the main aim of the campaign is to give a special identity to single women and empower them. The campaign would also provide an impetus to the adoption of girls by single women, he added.
Ritu Rani, a single woman from Bibipur village, said that it’s not necessary for a woman to get married if she doesn’t find a suitable match. “Instead, she could adopt a girl child. This would help encourage positive thoughts for girls in society,’’ the 31-year-old said.
Sarita Devi, 35, a widow from Manesar who is the mother of two girls, said, "After being a widow, I realise that society starts ignoring such women. This campaign will encourage them to come forward. Everyone has the right to live with dignity in society.’’
Recently, the Economic Survey mentioned Jaglan’s campaign as an impressive step towards women's empowerment, saying that when a father in Haryana launched the 'selfie with daughter' initiative, the underlying message was to instil a sense of pride in parents of daughters.
Haryana had the worst child sex ratio at 834 among Indian states against a national average of 919, as per the 2011 Census. Nudging parents to celebrate their daughters and their achievements could help overcome the lack of enthusiasm for the birth of a girl child.