President Murmu Demands Equal Sex Ratio For Haryana Women

Haryana's daughters may have been the focus of the main address on the state's foundation day celebrations in Kurukshetra on 1 November, on the 60th birthday of the state, but a different yardstick has entered the speech when it comes to celebrating its sex ratio ( 1, 4). President Droupadi Murmu, in her speech, said Haryana has made huge progress in all dimensions of women's empowerment over the last decade, and its sex ratio has risen. The issue of women's empowerment was evident in the speech, although she called for a joint effort from the Centre and state governments to make the sex ratio equal.

What the President Praised

The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in 2015, is a proud moment for her, Murmu said. She also recalled the state's women sportspersons. With the right motivation, they did us proud, she said, naming Manu Bhaker, Saweety Boora and Jaismine Lamboria as daughters of the country. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini added that Haryana’s daughters are bringing laurels in fields from agriculture and sports to the armed forces and start-ups. It is a warm picture, and a fair one, since Haryana’s women have made medal tables their own.

Progress Is Not Parity

The harder part of the speech was the request for parity. Haryana has long been associated with a skewed sex ratio, and the President’s call for coordinated action suggests the work is unfinished. The reports on the speech did not give a current figure for those, so one cannot gauge the extent of the remaining gap from them. As structural discussions on Women Empowerment in India proceed, it is important to take note that the calculations of medals and ratios are different. A family can afford a child to be a champion, whereas the Haryana sex ratio indicates whether families encourage a daughter at the time of birth. Both are essential, and one can progress more rapidly than the other. The real challenge is whether the same push that creates champions makes it to girls who will never step on a podium, join school, walk back home from school, and work in paying jobs.

It's always nice to have praise from those in the hierarchy, and what will really matter in the coming decade is the stats. When the census says the same in the next ten years about the demography that it does about medals, every girl will have an equal right to be born and grow up.