10 years of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has helped improve women's education access, but is lacking in other areas Photo: Anupriya Yoga 10 years of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has helped improve women's education access, but is lacking in other areas Photo: Anupriya Yoga

In the ten years since its implementation in 2015ola2025, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has achieved some milestones in terms of increased Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and educational attainment of girls.

It has also been successful in bringing women’s disempowerment discourse to the mainstream, and culturally countering the prevalence of neglect towards girls’ nutritional and educational requirements.

However, a much more complex narrative lies behind these wins: although the number of girls surviving and getting educated shows an upward trend, it does not necessarily translate to real empowerment for the women of the country.

A comparative study of the data from the National Family Health Survey 4 and 5 unveils fascinating trends from Kerala, Goa, and Mizoram, often touted as the best performing states under the BBBP scheme.

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In Kerala, with its remarkable 92% female literacy (Census 2011) only 64.5% of women take an equal role in household decisions.

In the same state, 52.4% of women and 62.7% of men see wife-beating as acceptable in some situations.

This data was collected through a combination of approaches including self-declaration surveys, surveillance of police records and interviews with focus groups.

These statistics point towards an undercurrent of culture under which, education, important as it is, does not necessarily change entrenched social perceptions.

A persistent trend of disparity can be observed between education and freedom of movement.

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NFHS 5 data reveals that, 88.3 % of women in Goa have access to banking yet only 23.8% of those women have freedom of independent movement to a health facility,66jogo marketplace or a relative’s home.

Mizoram’s female involvement in household decisions is high at 87% but the women's ownership of land is as low as 13.9%.

These disparities underscore a key concern for government and the policymakers: the premise that educational attainment leads to empowerment might not necessarily hold true in real life scenarios.

While schooling is essential to impart basic knowledge and skills, improving women's socioeconomic status depends heavily on the systemic barriers they face in terms of owning assets, employment, threat of violence, and decision-making opportunity.

Economic autonomy is key to the conversion of educational success into genuine autonomy – an area in which further policy emphasis could bear real dividends.

From 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 land ownership among women decreased from 23.4% to 11.5% in Kerala, from 14% to 9.2% in Goa, and from 14.8% to 13.9% in Mizoram.

Figures on mobile phone ownership show a much more encouraging trend, with significant increases across all three states, marking an important milestone in digital inclusion.

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Attitudes towards gender-based violence in Goa have witnessed rising acceptance of wife-beating among women (jumping from 21.3% to 34.5%) and among men (from 12.5% to 35.2%) between NFHS-4 (2015- 2016) and NFHS-5 (2019-2020). Mizoram improved, with acceptance falling to 32.9% from 59.5% among women and to 43.7% from 53% among men.

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These trends indicate that changing deeply entrenched belief systems requires more than a few awareness raising campaigns and interventions that deeply dissect the systemic realities of women.

The evidence from data suggests BBBP’s emphasis on survival and education is necessary yet only fulfills half a promise in terms of women empowerment which has a lot more structural barriers beyond getting girls into schools.

Thinking from a life cycle approach would benefit the policy makers in making the scheme much more inclusive, far-reaching and effective on ground. BBBP’s partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Ministry of Minority Affairs are steps in the right direction.

Asset Ownership could be another area for intervention for women and legal awareness about land and assets would deliver a targeted solution. Breaking the pattern of low asset ownership can be achieved by lending governmental support to women through supportive infrastructure.

Tailoring indicators to include women's economic, social and political empowerment would give a real chance at comparable Monitoring of BBBP beneficiaries.

As we celebrate 10 years of BBBP, data provides valuable insights into improvement areas beyond the foundational needs of survival and educational attainment.

To tackle systemic barriers in an economy as complex as India, a multi-pronged policy approach would be essential to achieving holistic progress on women’s empowerment.

Advancing progress on structural drivers and bridging regional gaps in implementation is not only crucial for the success of the BBBP Scheme, but also necessary to fulfill India’s global commitments towards inclusive and sustainable development.

The journey to empowerment and gender parity must go from classrooms to workplaces and from homes to public spaces.

As we step into the second decade of BBBP, we must pause to reflect on our shortcomings, improve on them and continue to advocate for a society in which India’s daughters not just survive but thrive.

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