A VILLAGE WHERE EVERY GIRL'S LIFE IS CELEBRATED
DAUGHTERS ARE LIKE FLOWERS THEY FILL THE WORLD WITH BEAUTY
A woman, be it a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife or a friend, they all play a very important role in our lives. India on one side is known as the land where the Goddess is worshipped and on the other side, these heinous crimes against women happen. We talk about development, corruption, business and so on in our day to day life. But do these things matter when on the other side girls are not safe?
But there are always some people who think about humanity first and this is what the people of Piplantri's village has proved. Yes, Piplantri is a village in India where people celebrate the birth of every girl child. They show their joy in a unique way. But what if I tell you that Piplantri was not like this before, in fact, a few years before the birth of a girl child was considered as misery and misfortune for the family and people used to kill the child when they find that it was a girl. So what made Piplantri stop this tradition is an interesting story.
FEMALE FOETICIDE
Female foeticide is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal methods. The frequency of female foeticide in India is increasing day by day. The natural sex ratio is assumed to be between 103 to 107 and any number above it is considered as suggestive of female foeticide. According to the 2011 census, the sex ratio in 0 to 6 age group in India has risen to 108.9
India has the highest rate of excess female deaths at 13.5 per 1000 female births or we can also say as one in nine deaths of the female below the age of 5 is due to postnatal sex selection.
India is also ranked as the 9th most dangerous country for women in the world.
ONE-MAN MISSION
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| Shyam Sundar Paliwal |
So, coming back to the story as already told that there was a time when the birth of a girl was considered as a misfortune. There was a man who thought of changing this tradition and he was Shyam Sundar Paliwal (sarpanch or elected village head). He knew what used to happen in his village whenever a girl was born. A family member would push hard, jagged grain into her mouth. That would generally be enough to start an infection that led to the baby's death. But things go change after the death of Kiran Paliwal (daughter of Shyam Sundar Paliwal). After her death, Paliwal vowed to make Piplantri celebrates its women. In 2006 he started a campaign of planting 111 trees on the birth of every girl child in his village. He also explains the meaning of 1+1+1 as it represents the coming together of three main stakeholders- the girl child, her mother and her father.
FUTURE INVESTMENT
Now the main problem in his path was the dowry system because people in his village used to consider a girl as a burden and a huge investment is required for the marriage of girls, that's why they used to prefer boys (this was also one of the reasons of not preferring girls as their child). But thankfully Paliwal solved this problem also. For every girl born, the community collects Rs. 21,000 through donation and collects additional Rs 10,000 from girl's parents and put aside as an investment. After years of interests when the girl becomes 18, those few thousands would now have become few lakhs which can now be used in her marriage. The villagers also make the parents sign an affidavit which restricts them from marrying her off before she attains the legal age of her marriage and also ensures that a girl will go for a complete education.
Right now around 100,000 trees have been planted in the names of the girls born in the village and an additional 25,000 trees have been planted under various environmental initiatives. In 2005, there was a time when there was a condition of drought in the village and the government had to send water trains but now if you look at the village you will see a full carpet of green. The trees have also led to a higher water level and richer wildlife.
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| Piplantri village |
The Rajasthan Government also took inspiration from Paliwal after their poor sex ratio in 2011 census. Piplantri's approach to addressing socio-economic issues is a unique model that is not only sustainable and commendable but also one which can be easily replicated anywhere in the world. If this isn't women empowerment then what it is?
Paliwal's vision along with the efforts of villagers has finally helped Piplantri earn the prestigious "Nirmal Gram Award". On 4th May 2007 for his rigorous efforts and far-sighted vision, Shyam Paliwal was also honoured by the President's award. Paliwal was once asked about the source of his energy, he looked sad and answered: "Whatever I do is for my daughter's memory". Paliwal through his work has proved one famous quote that says,
"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD"
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piplantri
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