The NGO Save the Children conceptualised the report titled “WINGS 2022 .World of India's Girls: Spotlight on Adolescent Girls amid COVID 19”. Right from access to education, health, nutrition and risk of child marriage, the impact of the pandemic on adolescent girls are aplenty.
The study was conducted in February 2021 covering the East, West, North and South of India with Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Telangana as the key states. Based on a structured questionnaire survey administered among 1,092 mothers of adolescent girls (aged between 10 to 18 years), along with another taking into account adolescent girls (1092 in number) from
the same household (daughters of the respondent mother), several key findings were highlighted.
81 percent suffered from food insufficiency (as reported by mother respondents) during the initial lockdown period. 78 percent reported that their adolescent daughters faced difficulties in accessing sanitary napkins. 68 per cent reported that they did not have access to health and nutrition services during lockdown.
School closures disrupted the lives of over 320 million children enrolled at the primary and secondary level, and that amounts to 86 percent. While 33 percent girls attended online classes during the lockdown, 73 percent clearly indicated that the pandemic had adversely impacted their daughter's learning. According to mothers, 42 percent were not contacted by school staff during the pandemic period. And 23 percent of girls did not have access to any type of learning materials at home during the pandemic.
Adding to this, there is lack of awareness about the issue of child marriage. 14 per cent mothers felt that the pandemic has increased the risk of early marriage among girls. 10 percent of mothers believe that the appropriate age of marriage is below 18 years.
.
51 percent girls reported that they were watching TV more as compared to pre-pandemic days.This was followed by household chores (43 percent), use of mobile phones (39 percent), and playing board games (33 percent).
51 percent of Indian girls drop out of school by the age of 15; 7.9 percent of women aged 15-19
years are already mothers or pregnant; 26.8 percent of women aged 20-24 years were married before the age of 18 years; 22.5 percent of married adolescent girls and women have experienced spousal violence. 29 percent women (aged 18-49) married or with a partner have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their husband or partners.
According to Save the Children’s study, 79 per cent of street children do not have legal documents, 70 percent are involved in child labor, and every third child has faced violence. One out of four children sleep hungry at least once a week, 63 percent
cannot read or write, and 37 percent sleep on pavements.
The study also looked into the health and nutrition services received by adolescent girls during the lockdown. 68 percent in the four states did not access or receive any services.More than 90 percent girls in Delhi did not receive any services followed by Bihar (77 percent) and Maharashtra (64 percent) And Telangana (40 percent).
The study reveals that 88 percent of the girls who had dropped out of school belonged to families that had a family income less than Rs. 10,000 per month. 78 percent of households suffered a loss of income after the onset of the pandemic, 56 percent of households struggled to pay for food, and around 53 percent of the poor households expressed the need for cash or cash vouchers.
It’s time we make this place a better one for every woman, every girl and every mother. Happy Women’s Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment