On January 22, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 10 years of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program (BBBP), which was launched in 2015 to bridge the gender inequality gap and to better the plight of the girl child. During the last decade, it’s BBBP that has helped bridge the gap on gender bias and create an environment, so all girls get an opportunity to obtain an education to pursue their full potential.
Modi launched BBBP in Panipat, Haryana, on January 22, 2015. It has been working towards improving the Child Sex Ratio and empowering women throughout their life cycle. It has brought a change in the mindsets of society, reduced discrimination, and ensured that the girl child is given the right opportunities. It is meant to enlighten the minds of the masses about the importance of girls and their education, thereby causing long-term social change.
In a message marking the completion of 10 years, Modi expressed his satisfaction with the success of the movement, emphasizing its transformative and people-driven nature. “Over the past decade, it has become a movement that has garnered participation from all sections of society,” the prime minister said. He pointed out that districts with historically low child sex ratios have shown significant improvements, which is a testament to the program’s impact. Additionally, awareness campaigns under BBBP have fostered a stronger understanding of gender equality and its significance.
Modi appreciated the cooperation of the people and myriad organizations together for making the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative successful at the grassroots level. He recognized the fact that such efforts have made notable changes in areas where issues related to gender discrimination were higher. He further stated that these are the most vital endeavors; otherwise, girls would never have access to proper education and opportunity free of the prevalent kind of discrimination.
Concluding the message, Modi urged people to work for uninterrupted progress. “Let us continue to protect the rights of our daughters, make sure their education is taken care of and create an atmosphere where no girl faces discrimination and can grow accordingly,” Modi said. He expressed confidence that, with sustained efforts, the coming years would bring even greater opportunities and progress for India’s daughters.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has emerged as a ray of hope and transformation for millions of girls over the last ten years in India, thus being a step closer to an equal and inclusive society.
The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, aims to tackle the issue of gender imbalances and enhance the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in India with more education and social thinking for the girls and women. In the last few years, the BBBP scheme has made drastic changes across regions in India, primarily through education, healthcare, and social thinking. Here are 10 real-life examples of how the BBBP program empowered women and girls in various regions of India:
Kurukshetra, Haryana
Kurukshetra is a district in Haryana. There was a considerable change in the child sex ratio in the district, which had been a major issue in the region. The BBBP focused on raising awareness about the value of the girl child in the district. The participation of the community was also important. The local authorities were working in coordination with the residents to create an environment that was more inclusive for girls. The efforts to promote girls’ education were also intensified, and the enrollment of girls in schools increased. There was also a social attitude shift with more families promoting education and welfare of their daughters. Thus, gender discrimination decreased.
Muzaffarpur, Bihar
The BBBP initiative aims to improve literacy rates in females and provide ground schooling to communities so that they realize the value of education for girls in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The total number of child marriages and other harmful practices has decreased due to campaigns led by women from the community. Local women took leadership roles in spreading the message, which had a direct impact on the increase in girl child enrollment in schools. With this, more girls could acquire education, which led to increased good prospects for them towards their professional life and thus contributed to a cultural move throughout the state in favor of gender equality.
Rajasthan: Jodhpur
BBBP has contributed a lot towards gender sensitization for the state that has always known to have less sex ratio in Rajasthan. In Jodhpur, women groups and local organization took active role in promoting it. They organized mass awareness drives highlighting the importance of education and healthcare facilities for the girl child. Work was also done to improve the accessibility of education for the girl child, especially in rural areas, where previous societal norms prohibited female education. This heightened awareness among the public improved the community attitudes and helped create better opportunities in education and health care for girls and women.
Pune, Maharashtra
BBBP schemes resulted in tangible improvements in the sex ratio of major cities of Maharashtra, particularly Pune, and in the general welfare of girls. The achievements of the BBBP program in Pune included the increased emphasis on education among the girl child. The results of the program were that the number of girls who passed out from school and entered into vocational training units were markedly higher, as the vocational training was better for their career prospects. Pune’s approach to promoting education for girls also involved engaging local schools and communities in addressing gender inequality and offering scholarships for girls pursuing higher education.
Dhanbad, Jharkhand
Dhanbad in Jharkhand benefited from the active participation of women’s self-help groups (SHGs) under the BBBP scheme. These SHGs played a crucial role in spreading awareness about the importance of girls’ education and the need to eliminate gender-based discrimination. As a result, there was a noticeable reduction in the gender gap in school attendance, and more girls attended school regularly. It further led to a decrease in child marriages and more involvement of girls in extracurricular activities, therefore, all round development of them.
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
In Bhopal, which is the capital of Madhya Pradesh, there has been better health and education services for girls in the implementation of BBBP. Local awareness programs, supported by government and community organizations, played a great role in promoting the education of girls. As such, many girls from marginalized communities were able to pursue higher education and vocational skills training. BBBP’s focus on healthcare also helped in improving the nutritional and medical support available to girls, thus enhancing their overall well-being.
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh
BBBP has done a great job in spreading awareness among people, especially in Aligarh of Uttar Pradesh. The district had focused efforts on female feticide and girls’ education. It organized workshops and public campaigns that encouraged people to educate girls. This has increased the number of girls getting scholarships for higher education. Most of the girls achieved excellent results, and their achievements marked a social shift in attitudes about the role of girls in education and society. Issues like early marriages and gender violence were also tackled, ensuring a secure environment for girls.
Chandrapur, Maharashtra
Chandrapur is a district of the state of Maharashtra; BBBP contributed to increasing a large number of girls completing their education at secondary-level schooling. One important contribution of this policy was the setting of safe and open spaces in institutions for the proper education of the girls free of any fear, discrimination, and harassment. As a result, many girls in Chandrapur went on to complete higher studies, breaking traditional gender barriers and pursuing careers in diverse fields.
Siliguri, West Bengal
BBBP made awareness campaigns and helped the districts of West Bengal, particularly Siliguri, which changed the mindset of people with regard to a child sex ratio, and they gradually broke traditional gender roles. BBBP motivated girls to take part in sports, education, and other extracurricular activities, which had been considered a male sphere. This improved the mindset, and more girls went to schools, and took up community development works. Siliguri became an example of how gender equality can be promoted through a combination of education, sports, and community involvement.
Sikar, Rajasthan
Sikar in Rajasthan was a shining example of what BBBP really meant. Community education on why the girl child was important was undertaken, but more importantly, BBBP aimed to reduce gender violence. Local women took active and important roles under community-driven schemes, and through these, instances of child marriages were reduced along with the increase in the overall quality of the girls’ living conditions. The district has seen an increase in girls in schools, and many young women enrolled for higher education and vocational training. BBBP’s success in Sikar has inspired neighboring districts to follow the same.
All of these examples prove that the initiative undertaken by BBBP has an all-around transforming effect all over India. With help of education, healthcare, and community engagement, BBBP empowered women and girls such that they could remove those barriers against them and aids them to achieve those dreams. Improving gender equality and building an inclusive and progressive society, where girls can succeed, have been achieved through collective efforts in these areas.
