Hiten Tejwani lends support to campaign to bring down sex-selective abortions

With Save The Girl Child campaign, the actor wants to highlight the issue of declining child sex ratio and the inequalities faced by girls in the country

The pandemic has also caused an increase in the number of gender violence cases against women. Yet another disturbing aspect of the shadow pandemic happens to a rise in sex-selective abortions. To create awareness on the same, Hiten Tejwani has lent his support to the Save The Girl Child campaign, headlined by Dr Sunita Dube, to highlight the issue of declining child sex ratio and the inequalities faced by girls in the country. He says, “This will be a perfect way to educate people who still have doubts and biases against a girl child.”

Hiten Tejwani wants to highlight the issue of declining child sex ratio and the inequalities faced by girls in the country. (Vikas Sarwin)

Father to an 11-year-old daughter, he feels happy to raise her in the modern world. “If a woman is educated, she’ll make a mark and find a place for herself. Women are equal to men and are holding power positions across sectors. Even in my field, there are so many female directors today who are doing so well for themselves,” the actor shares.

However, Tejwani asserts on the need to educate the rural population on women empowerment and gender disparity as that can go a long way in curbing cases relating to sex-selective abortions. “The best thing in our country is that we aren’t allowed to identify the sex of the child before they’re born. That’s a good way to prevent abortion. But sex-selective abortions majorly happen in rural areas. And if one’s educated, they’ll understand that a child is a child, irrespective of their gender, as it plays an important role in eradicating gender prejudices.”

The Tandav actor believes that change has to begin from home. “It’s important to make that we bring up a child in a way so that they believe that men and women are equal,” he ends.