Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme: A March towards Gender Equality and Women Empowerment

The gender equality in terms of survival and education is essential for equitable economic development of any nation and is a basic human right. In Indian Patriarchal society, gender discrimination is deeply rooted which can be seen even in the form of female foeticide due to preference of son over daughter. After birth, the discrimination continues and is reflected in the opportunities in education, health facilities and other areas of life in the Indian families. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme was launched in 2015 to combat this discrimination and spread awareness about the rights of the girl child. The present paper evaluates the BBBP Scheme and its impact on gender equality and women empowerment. It was observed that the scheme brought some changes in Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and level of education of the girl child. The BBBP scheme is successful to some extent to bring awareness about the human rights of girl child through community participation to support their education, growth and development.