NEW DELHI: The girl child being unprotected only amongst the uneducated is a myth and it is true there is also discrimination towards her in areas where well-educated families live, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Replying to questions during Question Hour, the Minister said her government is working on the issue and the 'Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao Andolan' seeks to engage even with civil society groups in such areas to address this issue.
She said the consistent effort in the past four years has shown bettering of prospects for the girl child in 25 states while admitting to what Congress member Jairam Ramesh said that in some of the most industrialised, well-read areas, one finds a dip at times.
The Congress member said some developed states had witnessed a decline in the child sex ratio of late.
"This is an issue on which you find numbers spike and dip year after year. The fallacy that the girl child is unprotected only amongst the uneducated is a fallacy and myth that we need to burst. It is true that in areas where very well educated families reside, this kind of discrimination has been witnessed. It is an issue that has been studied not only in my government but also governments of the past. The 'Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao' Andolan actually seeks to engage even with civil society groups in such areas to address this issue," she told the members.
In reply to another supplementary, the minister said the government has issued an advisory to various states to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in the police force to ensure their empowerment. She also told the House that "In this government, this has been approved and implemented in ten states and 7 union territories in the country,"