Khap Panchayat are usually in news for all the wrong reasons like honour killings but now they are showing their progressive side. With the aim to tackle gender disparity and promote and ensure better upbringing of girls, they have passed instructions that names of girls should be displayed on name plates of the houses.

The heads of Meerut Khap Panchayat have asked all their members and villagers to display the names of their daughter(s) on their nameplate – placed either in the main entrance or front door.

This move came about due to continuous and strenuous effort on the part of Malhu Singh Kanya Inter College Principal, Dr. Neera Tomar who had several meetings with Meerut panchayat heads on this issue. During these interactions the Principal made them understand how women are breaking the glass ceiling in different spheres of life and achieving success in varied fields – making their parents proud of them.

As expected, in the beginning the response was not encouraging but persistence on Tomar’s part saw a change of heart taking place gradually. Following this, the heads of the panchayat decided to pass this order to make display of names of girls on the nameplates mandatory.

Reacting on this a villager told news18.com: “The step will change the conservative mindset of people that only a male child of a family can bring name and fame for the family. A few people still living with medieval age mindsets will also have a change in their attitude for a girl child after seeing other girls bringing fame for their families and villages.”

The heads of the Khap Panchayat along with Tomar are visiting each student’s house who is studying in the Malhu Singh Kanya Inter College and meeting the parents to convince them to help and encourage their girls to go for higher education. They are also requesting them to change their nameplates.