We Are All Equal !

And though she be but little, she is fierce.” – William Shakespeare

It is ironical that we worship many female Goddesses at various festivals however when it comes to women living in our home we don’t really give them the same amount of respect and care that they deserve. In the Indian rural landscape, girls are generally deprived of even the most basic facilities (such as proper nutrition, education, lifestyle etc.) in their family because of the superiority of boy child. In the Indian society, boys are given higher importance than that of girls in terms of healthcare and nutrition. One of the major issues facing India’s girls and women is the high death toll of gender discrimination, both prenatally and postnatally. We kill them before they get to see the light of day or do not care for them after their birth without even realizing how we will get a daughter, sister, wife or mother in future. Has anyone ever pondered as to what will happen if women deny to be pregnant, give birth to a baby or give up all the responsibilities of their motherhood. If not; then why are girls killed, why are they considered to be a curse, why are they regarded as a burden to their parents or society. Why are such eye-opening questions still not answered?

To solve this pressing issue, the Govt. of India has launched several initiatives to save the Girl Child and curb the menace of female infanticide. One such campaign is “BetiBachao, BetiPadhao”(Save the daughter, educate the daughter).It aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls in India.It addresses the issue of the declining child sex ratio image.

The objectives of this initiative are:

·         Prevention of gender biased sex selective elimination

·         Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child

·         Ensuring education and participation of the girl child

·         Bridge the sex-ratio gap

To know more about this campaign visit:https://wcd.nic.in/bbbp-schemes

To contribute towards this social cause,time and again HEEALS has come up with various activities to support girl child .

Few of the activities undertaken are:

·         Organised  workshops In Uttar Pradesh Schoolson “Stop Child Marriage”&“Save Girl”&“Educate Girl”.

·         HEEALS spearheaded their campaign “Hand Wash and Menstrual Hygiene” using various innovative and interesting activities to explain the importance of hygiene practices. Till now, we have targeted six schools and 1050 students in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh and Gurgaon, Haryana, India between the age group 10-14 years studying in classes 5th – 9th.

·         Through The Medium of Documentary Film like –“The Curse” we are trying to create Awareness Among the Masses about Girl Child Education , Menstrual Hygiene, Sanitation and Safe Drinking Water .

Link for documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iRlngOAsxo

·         HEEALS organises menstrual hygiene management workshops and ‘Pads for Girls’ project which provides girls with a healthier and safer alternative: the sanitary pad.

· Through spreading education on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and organizing WASH and MH workshop, HEEALS is working to increase the attendance rates of girls in schools who drop out from school due to their period and improve self-confidence of girls in Indian society.

s    Kindly support our "Wonder Girls" Project : https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/wondergirl?fbclid=IwAR3dbqwRgdDRQU-Dp7AK24TLrVDnqTqXtOpn78fADzVC4aMvRLetrzCF_6M#/

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- Priyanka 

  Volunteer