A lot of Govts have offered some fantastic schemes for the single girl child.
1. Ladli Scheme of Delhi
2. Balri Rakshak Yojana in Punjab
3. Ladli Scheme of Haryana
4. Girl Child Protection Scheme in AP
5. Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah Yojana-Bihar.... and so on
A list of popular schemes can be accessed here
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| one or two |
These schemes are truly commendable and offer a special incentive for bringing a girl child into this world and stopping with just that one.
But, it is rather surprising that no such incentives exist for parents with two daughters
OK let me play the devil's advocate here and consider the reasons for someone to stop with a single girl child....
1. They are happy with one - be it boy or girl
2. Medical reasons do not permit them to have a second
3. They are not sure that they can get a boy in the second attempt
4. Financial condition does not permit having a second child after first girl child
5. Lastly - a slightly disturbing reason - they may have aborted a second child after coming to know that it is a girl (one can argue that it is not possible due to govt regulations on the subject but clandestinely it is happening which is why some clinics are caught once in a while) and so on...
So, if we look at these impassionately we would realise that single girl child option in a large number of cases is not the natural option but one that was forced upon them due to any of the reasons above.
Now, consider the state of parents with two girl children -
1. they braved the decison to go in for a second despite not being sure if they would get a boy
2. many people go in for a second despite their medical condition
3. undergo tremendous financial strain in india due to marriage expenses, dowry etc for the girl child
4. did not go for a sex determination test/ or even if they did went ahead with the baby.
The last option deserves applause as it would have been very easy to abort rather than go for a second girl child (I only mean financially for poor families). Despite this noble step taken by them, they are not rewarded for the same.
In reality, everyone would agree that a family with two girl children needs more financial incentives than the one with a single girl child.
To conclude, Daughters are a blessing for the love they give to their parents and one can surely say that one who does not have a daughter is missing something in life, but Govt also may consider offering financial incentives even for people with twice the blessings because they are the ones who actually need them more than the ones with single girl child.
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