Well, not quite, but if that happened, it would be in the same league as this one.This GOI advertisement came out on the National Girl Child day, released by the Ministry of Child and Women Development under Krishna Tirath of Congress. The first thing that strikes you is how amateurish the composition is. A high school student could compose a better ad and write better copy too. Most of the real estate is taken up by post-modernist blocks of color, an advertisement against female foeticide features mostly successful male icons (including the Pakistan Air Force general, of course). The ad is clearly off message. It is also way off target, people who can read that ad usually do not kill their girl children.
It is admirable that the Government takes up such a strident stand against this social malaise but haven't we done just about enough on this particular issue? We have legislated the heck out of it, there is no dearth of jhollawalla funds or enforcement. Yet, clearly Government action is unable to make a reasonable dent on the problem. On the other hand, is the problem as big as it is made out to be? Reports indicate female foeticide is fairly common in the Southern parts. Reports also indicate in male-female ratio, China does far worse than India.
Obviously, this is a secondary problem that can not be easily fixed by running bogus color ads on English language newspapers. On the other hand, it does provide two essential services - provide employment to extended members of the family (ad design, publishing, copy writing, printing etc.) and a moral cudgel to a group of people whose sole purpose in life appears to be to pick faults within other religions.
We recommend the Ministry of Child and Women Development to expend at least some resources to other areas. We do not see Hindu priests or religious leaders advocate female foeticide, in fact many of them are vocally against it. What we do see are advertisements for Arab Pardha adorning billboards in major cities in Kerala.
3 comments:
Oh - you shouldn't be so naive. The entire reason for doing any 'social' activity [be it Nuclear Power sale-out, or laying of the road or this ad campaign] carrys with it at least a 30% Profit that will expand the already burgeoning Swiss Cow's fat belly.
And, campaigns such as this one, that can in no rational manner be tracked for progress, results or impacts, provide the most feasible and logical method to loot the Nivasi Bharathi [Resident Bharathi]
Let's assume the Govt spent 10 Lakhs for this ad-campaign - how will anyone ever find out what was the result of this? Let us say the female foeticide rate remains unchanged or worse, gets increased - the only option would be to carry the campaign in other media or find another ruse to loot the public.
It would be greatly beneficial if the Administration was separated from Social Welfare. The Administration must be accuntable to stringent policies and public questioning in a plethora of fora (including the Internet) - and social welfare firms must be funded based on the number of regions (villages, towns, slums) that they've successfully converted [A conversion that is far more helpful than the millions that are published in the Govt Gazette]. Conversion mustn't move the people - but must transform the region from a disease-infested hell-hole to a place suitable for human inhabitation.
Looking to hear more from you.
~ MN
Brilliant !
Astonishingly poor quality of execution, both the graphics and the text. It looks suspiciously like MS Paint. To think that this ad cost lakhs of OUR money to run in the papers is shocking but only to those of us who have not yet been placed.
If I were the owner of the graphics house I would vote wholeheartedly to prevent public audit. I would also love the who-wants-to-know RTI because then I will know who be the trouble maker and deal via the appropriate channels.
a women wearing burqa is telling all men around her that she thinks all of them are sex slaves. So, she is protecting herself by dressing in a full burqa.
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