Bijayanagar Rural Municipality has started depositing money into the bank accounts of families with a daughter as their first child. Under the ‘Save Daughters, Educate Daughters’ campaign, the Rural Municipality is initiating a program that deposits Rs.15,000 into a bank account created in the name of the first-born daughter in the family. The local level had introduced the scheme from 2021 to end the discrimination against the girl child in the community. Gopal Bahadur Thapa, the Chairperson of the Rural Municipality, said that the Bijayanagar Rural Municipality has launched the Campaign to neutralize the negative attitude towards the girls in the society.
Rita Yadav of Bijayanagar Rural Municipality-2, Jarlaiya, reported that the Rural Municipality has created a bank account in the name of her first-born daughter, Radhika Yadav, and deposited Rs. 15,000 into it. Yadav also mentioned that the Rural Municipality added an additional Rs. 5,000 to the account because she fulfilled all the criteria for claiming the funds under the campaign. Yadav praised the Rural Municipality for its remarkable efforts to secure a bright future for daughters and for addressing societal discrimination against them. She emphasized that such programs highlight the respect that should be given to the girl child. Chairperson Thapa of the Rural Municipality stated that the Rural Municipality plans to continue supporting girls through various initiatives each year, including distributing bicycles, educational materials, and scholarships to encourage girls studying above class 6 to go to school regularly and bring their interest in education.
Locals have shown significant interest in the campaign run by Bijayanagar Rural Municipality. In the fiscal year 2021/2022, the Rural Municipality created bank accounts for 33 daughters. In 2022/2023, this number increased to 75 daughters, and in 2023/2024, accounts were opened for 56 daughters. Himalal Paudel, Information Officer of the Rural Municipality, stated that under the ‘Save Daughters, Educate Daughters’ campaign, funds have been deposited into the accounts of the first daughters of 164 couples over the past three years.
The Rural Municipality’s campaign has strongly committed to upholding gender equality. Himalal Paudel, the Information Officer, explained that the ‘Save Daughters, Educate Daughters’ campaign was launched to address the issue of girls who have been deprived of education due to various family circumstances and have dropped out of school. The initiative aims to support and ensure the continued education of these girls.
The Rural Municipality believes that this campaign will significantly contribute to reducing gender discrimination in the future. Chairperson Thapa stated that by alleviating the financial burden through savings, it will be easier to change attitudes towards daughters and promote greater equality. He stated that with the aim of promoting equality between sons and daughters, the Rural Municipality has launched this campaign to create an environment where daughters can live a simple, easy life with self-respect.
Chairperson Thapa said that the Rural Municipality deposits Rs 15,000 into the bank account of the first daughter in each family. Additionally, the family is required to deposit a mandatory minimum amount of Rs 5,000. This money will be saved for 20 years, and the funds can be used for higher education when the daughter reaches the age of 20. Vice Chairperson Laxmikumari Chaudhary said that this campaign aims to end child marriage and promote gender equality in society. She highlighted that the program was introduced to educate girls in rural areas and improve their future prospects. Chaudhary noted that the initiative also offers some relief in the expenses associated with the marriage of daughters.
The program will also apply to the first daughter born after one or more sons.
Parents have the option to deposit additional funds into the account if they wish. The local government has established and implemented these guidelines, utilizing the authority granted by Section 102 of the Local Government Operation Act 2017. The Save the Daughters, Educate the Daughters Campaign was initiated by the local government in 2021.