'Selfie With Daughter'

The unique intiative by a village sarpanch in Haryana, known for its dismal sex ratio, has taken the state from notoriety to fame, overnight.

In January, Narendra Modi launched the 'Beti bachao, beti padhao' (Save the Daughter, Teach the Daughter) campaign aimed at improving India's child sex ratio. Significantly, the campaign was rolled out in Panipat, (Haryana), that is notorious for its abysmal child sex ratio. While the problem is deep-rooted, there are some like Sunil Jaglan, the sarpanch of Bibipur village in Jind district, who are not discouraged by these obstacles. On June 9, Jaglan launched an innovative campaign titled "Beti bacho, Selfie Banao' or 'Selfie With Daughter' to increase awareness about pre- natal sex determination and female foeticide in the state. Through the contest, he calls upon parents from across Haryana to click selfies with their daughters and share them with him on the social messaging app, WhatsApp.

Though the campaign was launched on WhatsApp, it soon picked up on Facebook and Twitter as well with #SelfieWithDaughter. Jaglan informs us that he has received around 500 selfies from Haryana and other states. Jaglan who has been working on women's empowerment for a long time now, says that it was the birth of his daughter, Nandini, that motivated him to fight this evil aggressively. "People expressed remorse on the birth of my daughter.

They wished I had a son instead," he shares adding that many people do not even click pictures with their daughters and this why he came up with the idea of a 'Selfie with Daughter'. With this campaign Jaglan intends to make use of the "selfie fever" to actively involve the community in tackling the menace.

The selfies will be judged by a delegation of 30 women sarpanches and aanganwadi workers, who will be visiting the village on June 19. "The best three entries will be awarded trophies, certificates and a cash prize worth Rs 2,100," says Jaglan.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com