Need action to create safer, healthier environment for adolescent girls in state: Experts
Gender Resource Centre
of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) here on Friday.Through collaborative dialogue and evidence-based discussions, the workshop on "The Case for Investment in Interventions to Child Marriage and Reduce Adolescent Pregnancy in Bihar" underscored the need for coordinated action to create a safer, healthier, and more equitable environment for adolescent girls across the state.They observed that despite the state's rich cultural heritage and vibrant demographics, alarming statistics from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) depict a sorry state of affairs so far as the growth and development of girl child is concerned.
The statistics reveal that Bihar has the second-highest incidences of child marriage in the country, with 40.8% of women married before reaching the legal age of 18. Additionally, the prevalence of adolescent pregnancies continues to be a significant concern, with 11% of girls aged between 15 and 19 are either already mothers or pregnant with their first child.Prominent among those who attended the workshop and shared their experiences included development commissioner, Pratyaya Amrit; social welfare department's secretary, Bandana Preyashi; CNLU's vice-chancellor Faizan Mustafa and others.
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According to the NFHS-5 data, as many as 57 per cent of women aged 15-49 were anaemic in 2019-21, compared to 53 per cent in 2015-16. Nutrition is not just about food, but a socio-cultural construct. It is influenced by structural inequalities, gendered roles, household food distribution and cultural factors. Notably, the prevalence of anaemia (57.2 per cent) was higher in non-pregnant women than in pregnant women (52.2 per cent). It shows that women, especially non-pregnant women, rarely receive special care and nutritious food sources. For instance, anthropological studies – such as Leela Dube's Women and Kinship: Perspectives on Gender in South and South-East Asia (1997) – show that customarily girls are denied milk except in the educated, upper middle-class. Most are entitled to milk only in special circumstances such as lactation, illness and pregnancy. The neglect of menstrual health further leads to worsening rates of anemia, with 59 per cent of adolescent girls (15-19 years) found to be anemic, which poses increased risks during pregnancy and childbirth. Apart from anemia, 33.1 per cent of girls under the age of five are stunted. This is a result of several factors, including anemic and malnourished mothers as well as less care after childbirth because of being born as girls. While wasting and underweight figures are similar for girls and boys, girls receive less health care and nutrition during illness. Moreover, despite being responsible for managing the nutritional needs of their families, women are often the ones who eat less and last. These trends highlight inter-generational nutritional inequality. Children born to thin mothers, whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is less than 18.5 kg/m2 have higher probability of being stunted, wasted, and underweight. Out of 28 states, the prevalence of anemia rose in 21. 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Most often, women are the primary caregivers and have limited or no time for self-care, health management, and physical activity. In addition to this, women also have micronutrient deficiency as their diets often lack diversity, with protein intake missing significantly. The cultural norm of eating less and often eating last further impacts women's nutritional well-being. The Indian Constitution recognises the Right to Food – access to adequate food and nutrition for every citizen – under the Right to Life as per Article 21. Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy also places a duty on the state to raise the level of nutrition and public health. India has also committed to end hunger as per Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. To address such concerns, the government has launched a number of policies and schemes. 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Some studies also noted that at times, they also have to provide supplementary food items and take home ration (THR) packets from their own pockets. These factors demotivate them and affect the adequate delivery of childcare and nutritional services. Nutrition is also connected with issues of social justice and healthcare and requires coordinated actions across multiple sectors and departments. While India has so far focused on undernutrition, there is now an emerging need to address the issue of overnutrition too. Adequately expanding the ambit of policymaking would help combat obesity and non-communicable diseases. State-led initiatives, such as mid-day meals, THR packets, could incorporate more healthy and diverse diets. Promoting nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices and building private-public partnerships to deliver nutritional services would also help expand the reach and quality of nutritional services. Having a multi-disciplinary approach to nutritional policies by involving economists, sociologists, policy makers and nutritionists, and, more importantly, women representatives would also help them become more socially effective. Nutrition is not just about food, but a socio-cultural construct. Comment. The Indian Constitution recognises the Right to Food. How do you see this in the context of the cultural norm of women eating less and often eating last? How does the nutritional status of women affect intergenerational health outcomes, particularly in children under five? Do you think that overnutrition among urban women complicates the policy focus on undernutrition? Why and what could be the possible ways to address this? There are noted variations in state-level performance with regard to women's nutritional status. What does this say about the role of governance and socio-cultural context in improving gendered nutrition outcomes? (Rituparna Patgiri is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.) Share your thoughts and ideas on UPSC Special articles with Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
