bers as the mindset is hard to crack. The Anganwadi workers opined that birth of a female child is not welcomed in their community. Mrs. Usha Batra, brought about the issue of male preference across socio-economic class in society by sharing her personal experi-

ence inspite of belonging to an elite family. Ms. Rachna (WPC) nar-rated experi-ence of how WPC tried to bring change by c e l e b r a t i n g birth of girl child in 11 states of India. Mr. Vikram Dutt (WIN) empha-sised on creat-

ing an independent identity and equal participation of women in all spheres of life by focusing on “Education” , an empowerment tool for women in four states of India. The meeting provided a platform for people working on gender issues to discuss the issue of sex selection “the worst form gender bias” and share their contributions in fight aginst it. Ms. Ramsauer congratulated

the efforts of CSR in the fight

against sex selective activities

and wished success for the

MSMB-GE project.

On April 10, 2012, Centre for Social Research (CSR) organised a discussion on female foeticide and some of the best practices adopted by different civil soci-ety members on the occasion of the visit of Ms. Ramsauer, wife of federal Minister for Trans-port, building & urban affairs and Mr. Ulrich Meinecke, Coun-sellor Social & Labour Af-fairs, Ger-many and Ms. Preeti. The meeting was attended by various stake-holders such as NGO part-ners of CSR- Mr. Vikram Dutt (WIN), Mr. Ajay Pandey (Deep Welfare Or-ganisation), Mr. Pramod (CFAR), Ms. Rachna Shanbog (WPC), Mr. Manoj Kumar (ASUME); Ms. Usha Batra, RWA President, Vasant Kunj, Anganwadi work-ers, Ms. Ritu and Ms. Anita of Mahipalpur and Kishangarh respectively and CSR team members including counsellors. Dr. Ranjana Kumari welcomed all participants and highlighted the issue of India’s missing girl children. It followed by the in-troduction of the participants present in the discussion. Dr. Manasi Mishra, Head, Research Division, outlined the work and achievements of CSR in curbing

sex-selective abortions in pro-ject areas. Ms. Ramsauer provided an in-teresting account of the issues facing women in her commu-nity in Balvaria, Germany. The proud mother of four daugh-ters discussed the preference for male children within her community, the changing atti-

tudes to women, and caring for the elderly in modern German families. During the discus-sions many similarities be-tween the status of women in Germany and India were com-pared. Discussion on the role of women as heads of Panchayati Raj Institutions in curbing fe-male foeticide was initiated by Mr. Meinecke. Based on their field level experience, the par-ticipants shared that some of the women PRI heads who car-ried active work against female foeticide are faced with oppo-sition by the community mem-

Visit of Ms. Ramsauer & Mr.Ulrich Meinecke – Open discussion on female foeticide

I N T H I S I S S U E

“Meri Shakti Meri Beti” Fight against female foeticide in the South-west

district of Delhi A P R I L - M A Y 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E I , I S S U E I I

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Visit of Ms.

Rasauer & Mr.

Ulrich Meinecke–

Open discussion

on female foeti-

cide

Formation of

CAFF

Training of field

Investigators

Formation of

Community

Watch Groups

(CWGs)

Interview of stake-

holders and initia-

tion of household

attitudinal survey

Forthcoming pro-

grammes and

events

"...........The prac-tice of female foeticide regret-tably persists in our society. This is a shame for all of us. We must eliminate it as early as possi-ble. Our progress will be incom-plete till women become equal partners in all areas of our life and in our na-tion's pro-gress........” The Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh, in his In-dependence Day speech on 15 August, 2009

P A G E 2

The CAFF meeting of

Vasant Kunj is in pro-

Formation of Committee Against Female Foeticide (CAFF)

A very impor-

tant strategy

in implement-

ing the MSMB

project in the

elite pockets

of the South

West District

of Delhi,

among the

rich, wealthy

and educated and to sustain the

efforts of the project is the for-

mation of Committee Against

Female Foeticide (CAFF). Ac-

cording to the project plan,

three CAFFs were to be formed

in Vasant Kunj, Dwarka and

Vasant Vihar localities with the

support and cooperation of

Resident Welfare Associations

(RWAs) of the respective areas.

Vasant Kunj

On 18th May 2012, CSR organ-

ized a meeting with the RWA

members of Vasant Kunj area

with the objective of setting up

of a Committee Against Female

Foeticide (CAFF). Dr. Manasi Mishra, gave a brief

presentation

about the

present pro-

ject, its aims,

o b j e c t i v e s

and the role

and respon-

sibilities of

CAFF mem-

bers. Dr.

Ranjana Ku-

mari, Director, CSR, shared her

experience in curbing the prac-

tice of female foeticide in Delhi.

The members of Vasant Kunj

CAFF are: Mrs. Usha Batra, Ms.

Suman Sharma, Ms. Priti Singh,

Mrs. Sangila Arora, Ms.

Paramjit Kaur and Ms.

Rachna Gupta. The mem-

bers also narrated their

own experiences in deal-

ing with the societal mind-

set towards daughters.

Dwarka

On the evening of 18th

May 2012, CAFF was

formed at Dwarka, Sector

7, Pocket 1 in coordina-

tion with RWA.

The CAFF members were

given a

presenta-

tion about

the pro-

ject and

the provi-

sions of

the PC-

PNDT Act.

They were

provided

with plac-

a r d s

w h i c h

have the contact numbers

of District Appropriate

Authority (DAA) on which

they can inform in case

any sex selective activities

are found to be conducted

in their society.

The CAFF members are:

Ms. Vandana, Ms. Sonal

Kaushik, Ms. Priti Mishra,

Mrs. Anjali, Ms. Rita, Ms.

Kamlesh Goswami, Ms.

Radha Sharma, Mr.

Sarvesh, Mr. Anil Kumar

and Ms. Sindhu Suresh.

The members identified

some high risk families in

their locality and thought

of ways to counsel them.

The members realized that it

is the citizens alone who can

change the society by being

the change themselves.

Vasant Vihar CAFF was formed in Vasant

Vihar on 21st May 2012 at 11.30

a.m. in collaboration with the

RWA of Vasant Vihar.

The meeting began with a brief

introduction of CSR activities

by Dr. Milly Chatterjee, Head of

the Development Division,

CSR, followed by a project

presentation by Dr. Manasi

Mishra. Participants raised ob-

servations starting from the

safety and security of girl chil-

dren to determining sex of the

foetus as a right of parents. The

following RWA members of

Vasant Vihar area have volun-

teered to be the CAFF members:

Ms. Sanjana Raj, Ms. Ritu

Bhardwaj, Dr. A. Bhardwaj, Ms.

Manju Sahai, Ms. Anita Rai,

Ms. Geeta Kumar, Ms. Padmini

Mathur, Dr. Gautam Vohra,

Mrs. Geetanjali Saxena, Mr.

R.K. Vohra, Mr. Puneet Kapur,

and Mr. Surjit P. (Mina) Singh.

The ACP and the SHO of the

Vasant Vihar were also present

in the occasion.

“ M E R I S H A K T I M E R I B E T I ”

The CAFF meeting of

Dwarka at Sector 7,

Pocket I

The CAFF meeting of Vasant Vihar at the RWA of-

fice, Kalyan Kendra of ‘C’ Block

Formation of Community Watch Groups (CWGs)

P A G E 3 V O L U M E I , I S S U E I I

Doctors, Nurses, Anganwadi Workers/Mid-wives and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). Apart from these, the household attitudinal survey questionnaire was also placed for the training to collect data for social audit. The field investigators who received the training are Mrs. Rekha Devi, Mrs. Kamlesh Premi, Mrs. Komal Dorothy,

The training of field investiga-tors was conducted on 1st May, 2012 to initiate the stakeholder’s data collection process as per the project timeline. Seven sets of struc-tured questionnaires were developed and field-tested for stakeholders such as mem-bers of the RWAs, Chief Medi-cal Officer (CMO) & PC/PNDT Implementing authorities,

Mrs. Naresh and Mrs. Sumanlata. The detailed pro-ject methodology was explained to them and each one has been assigned independent project areas to collect data from.

Training of field Investigators

The objective of formation of CWGs is to create a body at the local community level to keep vigil over their immediate society to curb declining sex ratio; generate citi-zen participation in project implementa-tion, to generate awareness among the grass root level; to increase awareness about the PCPNDT Act and to ensure long term sustainability of the project, even after its completion.

CWG at Kishangarh

Role play at the Kishangarh Aganwadi Centre

On 3rd May 2012, CSR formed the CWG in the Aanganwadi Centre at Kishangarh as per the project implementation methodol-ogy. The present CWG at Kishangarh is constituted of twelve women from the community of various age groups varying from 25 years to 70 years of age. They were Sarla, Santara, Kamlesh, Smita, Sheela, Sunita, Maya Devi, Anita, Meena, Sabho, Shanti and Sunita. The session began with the screening of an animated film against sex selection. Then a role play was conducted delineating the negative consequences of decreasing sex ratio, the PCPNDT Act and the need for

citizen participation and their role as a CWG member in reducing the practice of sex selective abortions. The CWG members voiced that dowry is the major reason behind female foeti-cide, but the mindset of preferring sons over daughters is deeply embedded in our social structure. They pledged to contribute to the success of the project by identifying high risk families and increasing awareness in their commu-nity regarding PC/PNDT Act.

CWG at Dabri On 10th May, 2012 the CWG was formed for Dabri project area at the Aganwadi Centre in Gali No. 1. The CWG consti-tutes of twelve women whose names are Sunita, Manju, Swati, Saraswati, Poonam, Bimla, Poonam, Pushpa, Shar-bati, Lovely, Kaushalya and Khushi be-sides the Aganwadi workers Push-palata and Rajbala. The children of these women and some community members were also present for the CWG meeting.

CWG members shouting slogans against Female Foeticide in Dabri

Efforts were made to sensitize the CWG regarding the declining sex ra-tio and to make them realize that they can make a difference in their immediate society if they resist sex- selective abortions.

CWG at Mahipalpur

The CWG members listening with rapt attention to CSR presentation

The CWG formed at Mahipalpur con-sists of fifteen members including the anganwadi workers. They are: Ku-sum, Guddi, Geeta Devi, Sanila Devi, Rani, Pushpa, Chanderwati, Ritu, Om-vati, Renu Devi, Sangeeta, Vineeta, Sharbati, Pinky and Suneeta. Some children were also present for the meeting. They were Situ, Shivani, Rohit, Santu, Nilesh, Hrithik, Anil, Kajal and Shivani. The members were provided with placards which have the contact/ helpline numbers of Dis-trict Appropriate Authority (DAA).

The meeting ended with a little poem

from the IEC material and some moti-

vating slogans.

Training of Field Investigators is in progress

CSR has two and a half decades of experience in re-

searching issues concerning underprivileged areas of

society, restructuring gender relations and empowering

women. We work broadly in four areas:

Action-oriented research

Direct interventions at the community level

Knowledge and capacity building

Policy level interventions

Over the years, CSR has focused its attention on

women, protecting their rights, empowering them, and

understanding issues from a gender perspective.

We thank the German Embassy for

supporting us in fighting against

female foeticide

The responses from the south-west district Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and three PC/PNDT officials are awaited. The data analysis through SPSS is on progress. The stake-holder’s report writing work has also been initiated simultaneously.

Visit to DAA and CDMO Three visits had been undertaken to the offices of the District Appropri-ate Authority (DAA) and the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of south-west district for rapport building and to collect stakeholders data as they form crucial stake-holder group for the project. The two visits to the DAA’s office who is the District Collector (DC) now, had been undertaken on 26th and 30th April, 2012 while the visit to CDMO’s office had been undertaken on 8th May 2012. In addition to that the project team is continuously following communications with them for vital information on data on present sex-ratio and effective implementation of project activities.

Upcoming programmes/activities Stakeholders report prepara-tion Stakeholders report writing has already been initiated after the SPSS data analysis. The findings and recommendations in the re-port will be disseminated among the concerned ministries and de-partments.

Medical audit 30 medical audit will be con-ducted in ultrasound centres/maternity homes/hospitals to check their compliance with the PC/PNDT Act.

Media Workshop One half-day media workshop will be conducted to disseminate the major findings and recommenda-tions of the stakeholders report for a wider dissemination among the press and the public.

Data collection from stakeholders

As per the project methodology the stake-holders report is to be prepared in June and accordingly the data collection for the same has been conducted in the month of May, 2012 by CSR Field Investigators. Prior to their field work, an one-day train-ing session has been held in CSR.

Field Investigator Mrs. Kamlesh Premi collect-

ing data from the Aganwadi worker Mrs. Rajbala

of Dabri

A total of 96 data has been collected out of 100 proposed data from the stakeholders. This includes 30 data each from Nurses, Anganwadi workers/Mid-wives; 12 data each from members of RWAs, NGOs and Doctors from the 6 project areas.

Centre for Social Research (CSR)

2, Nelson Mandela Marg,

Vasant Kunj, New Delhi —110070

Ph: 91-11-2689 9998,

91-11-2612 5583

Fax: 91-11-2613 7823

Website: www.csrindia.org