Hyderabad: The women and child welfare department celebrated the birthdays of 60 girls in the age group of one to 11 years which fall in February. The birthdays were celebrated to help parents appreciate the girl child and ensure that they don’t ignore them.
A senior officer said they had tried counsel expectant parents at maternity homes and Anganwadis on not to neglect the girl child but it was met with resistance. “They were not interested in listening to lectures on beti bachao and beti padhao. We then hit upon the idea of celebrate birthdays of the girl child.”
The first few celebrations helped them gauge the response of parents. Another officer said, “Young mothers felt good about the idea of getting a chance to celebrate a birthday. This proved to be a positive sign and we started inviting expectant mothers too.”
Data was collected of girl children in the local areas and they were invited to come together to celebrate birthdays. The best response for all the officials’ year-long efforts came in February.
Ms Aafsa Begum, the mother of a 10-year-old, explained, “It’s a good initiative as otherwise parents are only worried about their young girls.” Parents are counselled on the importance of not considering the girl child a ‘burden’. Parent Rafat Fatema said, “Stress was laid on educating the girls and taking care of them through various stages of life.”
