During a recent national consultation, Supreme Court Justice B.V. Nagarathna voiced deep concern over the alarming decline in sex ratios across several Indian states, attributing it to possible female infanticide and foeticide. She emphasized that girls deserve not just to survive, but to truly thrive.
Her remarks were made at the national annual stakeholders’ consultation, titled ‘Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment for Her in India.’ This significant event was organized by the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee in partnership with UNICEF India.
Justice Nagarathna delivered her address alongside Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, and fellow apex court judges, including Justice J.B. Pardiwala, a member of the Juvenile Justice Committee.
She firmly stated that for an Indian girl to be a truly equal citizen, she must have the freedom to aspire to anything a boy can, receiving identical quality of support and resources, unhindered by gender-specific barriers.
Justice Nagarathna elaborated: ‘The chances of her birth, access to proper nutrition, care, education, and resources, a safe environment, and the ability to cultivate her identity and achieve her goals must be on par with those of a boy child in this country. She must not just survive, but actively thrive.’
Highlighting the core challenges, she pointed out that for many girls in India, the first hurdle is simply being born. Tragically, it remains common for families to express disappointment or even dismay when a girl is born instead of a boy.
She cited statistics, noting a marginal improvement in India’s child sex ratio (0-6 years) from 914 girls per 1000 boys in the 2011 census to 929 girls per 1000 boys in the National Family Health Survey-5. However, she expressed alarm over recent reports indicating a worsening of these ratios in some states, likely due to female infanticide and foeticide, while acknowledging improvements in many other regions.
In her capacity as chairperson of the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee (JJC), Justice Nagarathna underscored the critical importance of nutritional care, warning that without adequate nourishment, all efforts to empower the girl child could prove ineffective.
She lamented the unfortunate reality that girls often receive less food or food of poorer quality compared to their brothers. While acknowledging the significant progress made by initiatives like the midday meal scheme, the ‘Anaemia Mukt Bharat’ program, and the POSHAN Abhiyan in providing quality nutrition to young girls, she stressed the need to widely publicize the damaging long-term effects of early childhood malnutrition on a girl’s physical activity, cognitive abilities, and problem-solving skills.
Turning to child marriage, Justice Nagarathna recognized the encouraging trend revealed by consecutive National Family Health Surveys, which show a consistent decrease in its prevalence. Over the last fifteen years, a combination of targeted policies and dedicated community engagement has successfully halved the rate of child marriage across India.
She highlighted the positive actions taken by both state and central governments, sometimes with UNICEF’s collaboration, through legislation like the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and in fulfillment of India’s international commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive solutions that are specifically adapted to regional characteristics, ensuring maximum effectiveness of these interventions.
Addressing the crucial aspect of girl child education, Justice Nagarathna asserted that high-quality education is indispensable not only for empowering girls but also for the nation’s overall prosperity. She further remarked that if India aims to achieve its ambition of becoming a global superpower, it is vital to ensure that today’s young girls receive ample support to grow into women who will significantly influence the country’s future.
Justice Nagarathna pointed out the encouraging data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which shows a marked improvement in school attendance for adolescent girls aged 15-17.
Despite this progress, she noted that high dropout rates continue to impede young women and girls from pursuing education beyond the secondary level. She posed critical questions about the underlying causes, suggesting that girls are often expected to sacrifice their education entirely or pursue studies they have no interest in, solely to enable their brothers to chase their ambitions. She stressed the importance of addressing these ‘virulent factors’ and ensuring that education provided is free from stereotypes, bias, and ideology, fostering individuals who can become contributing members of society.
Finally, she called for the expansion of trauma-informed and child-sensitive procedures within courts and police stations. She underscored a stark statistic: between 2018 and 2022, only approximately 4.8% of those arrested for human trafficking were convicted, despite a substantial number of charge sheets being filed.