About 50000 Kids Still Missing In India, 70% Of Them Are Minor Girls

More than 47,000 children are missing in India as per the latest National Crime Bureau Report (NCRB). Among the missing children, 71.4 per cent are minor girls. The missing children also included transgender kids. The number of children missing has increased every year in the last five years, the data tells us. Even though some children have been recovered, the gap remains unabridged.  

According to the data, published on December 3, 2023, a total number of 83,350 children are missing. Out of these, 20,380 are male, 62,946 are female and 24 are transgender. Furthermore, a total of 80,561 (20,254 male, 60,281 female and 26 transgender) were recovered or traced.

The data also tells us that in the year 2022, 76,069 children were reportedly kidnapped and out of this 62,099 were females. Moreover, 51,100 children are listed under ‘Unrecovered Victims of Kidnapping & Abduction’. Out of this, 40,219 or 78.7 per cent are girls. 33,650 missing children were deemed kidnapped in the latest NCRB data. 

Number of children missing across 2017-22 

The number of children missing has seen a spike of 7.5 per cent in 2022 from 2021. Similarly, in 2021, there was a surge of 30.8 per cent as compared to 2020. In 2020, the number saw a drop by 19.8 per cent against 2029 but it saw an increase of 8.9 per cent in 2019 against 2018 and 5.6 per cent in 2018 from 2017. 

What does the data tell us?

What does the data tell us? Clearly, even minor girls are not safe in our country. The fact that 71.4 per cent of the missing children are girls must alarm us against the atrocities being committed against girl children in our society. Moreover, the abduction and kidnapping of girls are also rising as the data clearly shows. 

In our society, girls face atrocities since their childhood because of their gender. Firstly, families do not want a girl child in their houses. The idea of paraya dhan and of girls being a burden on the family is still prevalent in our society. Secondly, be it of any age, women are seen as properties of men. They are assaulted as objects that do not have any right or control over their bodies.

But how long are we going to let societal perceptions risk the lives of our girls? How long will society devalue woman and register their subjugation in their minds from a small age? When will families take care of their girl children? When will they value their existence? 

For those who say feminism is no longer needed to reform society, this data should be an eye-opener. If children are not safe in our society; if the culprits do not have the heart to be kind to kids, what type of treatment can we expect from them when it comes to adults?

Views expressed are the author's own.