Gender-based discrimination leads to greater neglect of girls, in turn leading to malnourishment and retardation in female children, explained experts at the Jaipur-based IIHMR University recently.

Experts and academicians from the university revealed that as much as 56 per cent of girls aged between 15 and 19 suffer from anaemia.

Commenting on the National Girl Child Day, Goutam Sadhu, Associate Professor and in-charge, School of Rural Management at IIHMR, said some of the major inequities are primarily due to differential care amongst male and female child.

Gender inequality exists also due to sex selective abortions and neglecting the female child post-birth.

Quoting a report on Working Group on Child Rights for the 12th Plan (2012-17), he said: “The report highlights anaemia amongst adolescents in 15-19 age group. It is seen that only 30 per cent of the boys are anaemic, whereas, 56 per cent of the girls are so. In the age group of 12-23 months, only 52 per cent of girls are immunised, whereas about 55 per cent of boys are fully immunised.”

While the child (under 5 years) mortality rate for boys is 60 per 1,000 births, for girls, it is 69 per 1,000 births.

Sadhu further pointed out the discrimination among health priorities and treatments given to boys over girls.

Quoting the National Family Health Survey-3, Sadhu said 33 per cent of married girls/women aged 15 to 49 are undernourished, too, while 58.7 per cent of pregnant women are anaemic.

Also, girls who are less than 20 years of age are at 50 per cent greater risk of delivering children who are undernourished and with lower birth weight.

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