Population First’s Laadli – Mumbai’s Girl Child Campaign addresses the issue of the falling 0 to 6 sex ratio in Mumbai. Laadli is a comprehensive communications campaign combined with action programmes. It aims therefore to change the perceptions and values that make couples opt for a boy. The campaign hopes to do so by creating a positive image of the girl child in society.

• Break the silence around the issue and increase its visibility in the public eye
  
• Build public opinion and promote community participation for stopping the practice of sex selection by addressing the core social values, which promote sex selection and male preference in society
  
• Make it the responsibility of every one to stop the practice even if it means intruding into the privacy of homes and clinics
  
• Promote social whistle blowers and makes squealing on clinics and families opting for sex selection a virtue

Core Communication Issues

Male preference and discrimination against the girl child are deeply rooted in the patriarchal value system of our society and are strongly reinforced through traditional practices, religious beliefs, and social institutions like marriage, family and inheritance laws.