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"The government thinks it is fulfilling its duties by implementing schemes like the Laadli Lakshmi. Here we are fighting the dowry practice, and the government doles out 1 lakh to girls for their marriage? The scheme promotes the dowry system, which is a major cause for female feticide," pointed outSabina Martins of Bailancho Saad......"**************************************************
NGO discusses gender bias, to submit report to Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
PANAJI: Problems faced by women in Goa will soon be deliberated upon by a powerful UN committee created to end gender discrimination across the world. Women's movement BailanchoSaadon Sunday held a workshop to raise issues on discrimination against women, to be compiled into a report and submitted to the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), held in New York once in every four years.
CEDAW is a human rights treaty that has been ratified by 187 countries worldwide. The next convention will be held in 2014.
At the workshop, activists and grassroots-level social workers busted the misconception that Goa, being a literate, welfare state, allowed women to enjoy equal rights as men.
Lecturer Anita Haladi brought up Goa's skewed sex ratio of 917 girls per 1,000 boys, pointing out that areas with high literacy rates seemed to favour a boy child. "The government thinks it is fulfilling its duties by implementing schemes like the Laadli Lakshmi. Here we are fighting the dowry practice, and the government doles out 1 lakh to girls for their marriage? The scheme promotes the dowry system, which is a major cause for female feticide," pointed outSabina Martins of Bailancho Saad.
Advocate Albertina Almeida highlighted the fact that women are seldom made power of attorney in property-matters. "Also, when a married woman stays with her in-laws, and if she is thrown out of the house, she cannot claim any ownership rights," she pointed out.
Other activists discussed infrastructure issues that make schools and anganwadi centres a hostile environment for the girl child, and the discrimination faced by migrant women. The lack of women-friendly police stations is the cause for poor reporting of domestic violence and other crimes in Goa, they stressed. All these problems will be studied in-depth and included in the 'alternate' report presented to the CEDAW next year.
CEDAW is a human rights treaty that has been ratified by 187 countries worldwide. The next convention will be held in 2014.
At the workshop, activists and grassroots-level social workers busted the misconception that Goa, being a literate, welfare state, allowed women to enjoy equal rights as men.
Lecturer Anita Haladi brought up Goa's skewed sex ratio of 917 girls per 1,000 boys, pointing out that areas with high literacy rates seemed to favour a boy child. "The government thinks it is fulfilling its duties by implementing schemes like the Laadli Lakshmi. Here we are fighting the dowry practice, and the government doles out 1 lakh to girls for their marriage? The scheme promotes the dowry system, which is a major cause for female feticide," pointed outSabina Martins of Bailancho Saad.
Advocate Albertina Almeida highlighted the fact that women are seldom made power of attorney in property-matters. "Also, when a married woman stays with her in-laws, and if she is thrown out of the house, she cannot claim any ownership rights," she pointed out.
Other activists discussed infrastructure issues that make schools and anganwadi centres a hostile environment for the girl child, and the discrimination faced by migrant women. The lack of women-friendly police stations is the cause for poor reporting of domestic violence and other crimes in Goa, they stressed. All these problems will be studied in-depth and included in the 'alternate' report presented to the CEDAW next year.
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