Pushpa Singh, a 47-year-old government school teacher of English Medium Primary School at Jaisinghpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Farukhabad district, celebrates birth of a girl child in the village as ‘Beti Janam Utsav’ with much fanfare and takes out a procession rally across the village.
She started the initiative in 2013 when she was posted in Ugarpur village, to encourage other couples to rejoice the birth of a girl child.
“A girl student, who had two sisters, informed me that her mother was expecting another child and has turned suicidal at the thought of giving birth to fourth girl. I thought of doing something to distract her. As part of government school teacher, we use to organise rallies to spread awareness on various government schemes. That is when I thought of celebrating the birth of a girl child. I counselled her and her family and motivated them to take care of the mother and child,” added Singh.
Since 2013, Singh has worked in three villages and has celebrated birth of girl child in all the three villages, including Ugarpur, Nagla Surjan and Jaisinghpur.
“I encourage other teachers in my school to do the same and make sure that my students understand the concept of equality,” added the 47-year-old teacher.
A Master’s in Sociology, Singh wants to change the outlook of people.
“I ensure that the mother gets proper healthcare after giving birth. I counsel the family, her husband and the neighbours,” says Singh.
In 2016, Singh was approached by Sri Aurobindo Society for their Zero Investment Innovations for Education Initiatives. She was also awarded by then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for her initiative.
“My only motto is to make girls feel equal in the society and improve the skewed sex ratio.”
Source:Times Of India
