Statistics reveal that the situation in the state is grim with respect to the condition of women and girls. With a sex ratio of 898 girls over 1,000 boys —some districts have the ratio as low 676 over 1,000 — girls in the state are still neglected. Not only this, according to the statistics from agencies like the Population Foundation of India and the performance reviews of the Planning Commission, the state stands second when it comes to performing average in terms of implementing the schemes for the welfare of the girl child.

According to the District Level Household and Facility Survey of the Ministry of Health, Government of India, 37 per cent girls in Uttar Pradesh are married before the age of 18. Apart from this, 60 per cent of the women who are married are illiterate. The 2001 Census had highlighted that the literacy rate for women in UP was 42.98 per cent.

According to the statistics of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalay (KGBV) scheme of Mahila Samakhya in Uttar Pradesh, the dropout rate of girls in the state’s rural areas is still high at 42 per cent, with only 38 per cent having gone to school and passed Class X. Also, nearly 58 per cent of the girls below the age of 14 in rural UP are undernourished and underweight.

“Although there are a large number of schemes for the girl child, one needs a strong will and support from community to get them across and implement them well,” says Mamta Dubey of Mahila Samakhya.

With no significant improvement in the condition of girls in the state, the Department of Women and Child has been asked to get strict with the implementation of these projects.

“We are now asking for monthly reviews instead of quarterly to make the implementation more focused,” says R S Verma, secretary of the department.

State R-Day tableau on Maya’s schemes