With birth certificates being the major document in acquiring rights, how does India deals with this hidden discrimination?
We all have had this dream where we forget who we are. Sounds scary, right? But imagine waking up in a world where you don’t have ID cards to prove who you are. It sounds like an episode out of Black Mirror.
We live in a world where many people who are invisible to the government exist. This accounts for not being registered at birth or death. But why is a birth certificate so necessary?
Rights And Birth Certificates Go Hand In Hand
CRVS is the global organisation recording major life events; births, deaths, marriage and divorce. When one million people in the world are not registered, it pretty much causes opportunities for hidden human rights abuse. Birth registration is the first step to acquiring nationality, with admission in schools, medical facilities, social service protection and other life-essential benefits.
Registration will protect children from possible exploitation and abuse. Gender disparities in birth registrations are visible globally. Legal documentation prevents the potential abuse, exploitation and domestic violence against girls. Are you wondering what else a birth certificate can do?
However, acquiring this document is not always easy. Twenty-five countries in the world deny women to pass on the right of nationality. Three countries discriminate against men in their ability to pass the nationality to children born out of wedlock. These laws render children stateless, restricting movement and denial of fundamental rights. Now that’s how this unfavoured section becomes invisible. According to UNICEF, India is among five countries having almost 166 million unregistered births.
Gender discrimination is one of the major hindrances in acquiring a birth certificate. Not sharing the same rights with men in obtaining a birth certificate complicates the process. Moreover, necessitating the father’s presence might not be favoured as there have been cases where the father might deny the paternity. So what about those who lost their fathers or partners? Are they not eligible to acquire a birth certificate due to existing patriarchal norms?
Balancing Between Discrimination And Registration
Coming back to India, we have improved the numbers. According to NFHS-4, 3 out of 5 children (62.3%) under five have birth certificates in India. However, despite mandatory registration, only 84.9% of births and 79.6% of deaths were documented by 2017. Why is this happening? Various reasons can be cited from lack of software in institutions, lack of awareness among vulnerable communities, and registration units in far-flung areas. Sounds familiar!
We take the case of Aparti, a girl born with no identity. Her father was appalled when she was asked for a birth certificate at school. For the informally educated tribal leader, it was an arduous task. Finally, succumbing to the bureaucratic procedures, the villagers refused to provide a birth certificate and the school was forced to continue without these documents.
Aparti’s father tried his best. But what about those Apartis whose parents never thought about it? Aparti’s case highlights the loopholes in accessing necessary documents. Not only was her father compelled to knock at several government offices but was also charged a fee. The fee, though menial, isn’t something everyone can afford.
This PARI article highlighted how girls in Madhubani, Bihar, were living without birth certificates. Their mothers did not know they could be provided one free of cost. The bribe asked from young mothers who don’t know their rights is unethical.
This discouragement and monetary issues hinder girls’ fundamental right to education and availing governmental policies. When you don’t get a birth certificate, your already marginalised life becomes completely oblivious. Patriarchy binding our society, girls are considered a burden even in the 21st century. So why waste resources when we can provide for them through marriage. Even the essential birth certificates aren’t granted to them due to social norms. In such conditions, availing of government policies to benefit girl children becomes difficult.
The Dhanalakshmi Scheme of 2009, in selected backward districts of the country, is a conditional cash transfer to the family of the girl child preferably the mother. Conditions include birth registration, immunisation, enrolment in school etc. Most policies of the central government and state governments to benefit girl children require the mandatory registration of birth.
When you fail to acquire a birth certificate, the next option is a Voter ID which is unlikely before the age of 18. Other forms of identity include 10th and 12th class certificates, which become difficult considering there is no birth certificate.
Warding Off Child Marriage
Birth registrations have been seen as a crucial tool to ward off child marriages in India. Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andhra Pradesh have one out four girls married before the age of 18. Though the legal age of marriage has now been raised to 21, child marriage has just declined by 11% over the past fifteen years. Surprising, right?
In the Banswara district, there is a massive gap in birth registrations and birth certification. With more than 80% registered births, only 44% have received them. And this area is populated with tribal people. Rajasthan records most child marriages in India.
Let’s look at another policy in this regard. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was rolled out to support expenses for a girl child for financial independence once she turns 18. However, it requires opening a bank account before she attains the age of 10, with a birth certificate for name identification.
Parents refrain from getting a birth certificate in areas where child marriage is high, especially for girls. The reason being parents and the patriarchal shackles want to provide her security through marriage. In this purview, women’s health is never considered necessary, and early maternity risks both mother and child. So we can see how an attempt of providing financial independence to a girl child is wasted.
What Does The Future Hold?
It’s time India accelerated its initiatives to achieve 100% birth certificates for all children. Awareness campaigns in tribal and backward areas are necessary to know about basic rights. The attitude of parents to acquire birth certificates when the need arises has to be altered. Corruption also needs to be looked at. The unavailability of identity proofs hinders the use of much needed conditional cash transfer schemes that the document-poor of India cannot suffice.
India is moving towards establishing gender equality in acquiring birth certificates for children. The recent verdict by the Kerala High Court is vital as a single mother challenged the compulsion of the father’s name on the birth certificate. We can begin our long journey to end gender discrimination in birth certificates. Let’s not make this another case of “Missing Women“.
Note: The author is part of the Dec ’21 batch of the Writer’s Training Program.