Empowerment By Design | Vanshika Parmaar

Empowerment by Design:

Re-Imagining Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for Inclusive Growth and Global Gender Leadership

Empowerment by Design: Re-Imagining Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for Inclusive Growth and Global Gender Leadership

By Vanshika Parmar
Miss India Earth | Policy Researcher | Environmental Advocate | Tourism Ambassador of Himachal Pradesh | Board Director, Eco Earth Foundation Ghana

Author’s Preface
Executive Summary

1. Context and Policy Evolution
2. Achievements and Impact
3.Global and Theoretical Perspectives
4.Structural Gaps and Challenges
5. The Empowerment by Design Framework (VanshikaParmar Model)
6. Leadership, Ambassadorship & Strategic Role of Youth
7.Policy Recommendations 2030–2040
8. Conclusion – From Mission to Movement

References
About the Author

Author’s Preface

From the serene hills of Nadaun, Hamirpur, I first looked at the world through the prism of curiosity and compassion. What began as a childhood of wonder evolved into a journey that wove together art, intellect, and advocacy — a journey that took me from Himachal’s temples to the global stages of the Philippines, Ladakh, and Ghana.

Representing India at Miss Earth was not a celebration of beauty, but of purpose. On that stage, I realized that true leadership is not ornamental — it is architectural. Empowerment is not a speech; it is a system designed to unlock human potential.

As I stood amid the world’s highest peaks at Umling-La, representing India during the G-20 Presidency Commemoration in Ladakh, and later among the mangroves of Ghana’s Keta Lagoon, I witnessed the same truth — nations prosper not through protection alone, but through participation; not by charity, but by design.

This white paper, Empowerment by Design, is a blueprint for India’s next phase of gender leadership — one that integrates empathy with engineering, policy with culture, and local action with global insight. It is both a reflection of my lived experiences and a policy proposal rooted in realism, innovation, and India’s eternal ideal: VasudhaivaKutumbakam — “The world is one family.”

Executive Summary

India stands at the dawn of a civilizational transformation. As the nation enters the AmritKaal, it must not only continue the progress initiated by BetiBachaoBetiPadhao (BBBP) but redesign it for the future — where every girl is not merely protected, but positioned to lead.

Launched in 2015, BBBP ignited public consciousness on gender imbalance and education. A decade later, the programme must evolve from awareness to architecture — from slogan to system. This evolution is captured in my proposed model, Empowerment by Design: a next-generation framework fusing design thinking, data intelligence, youth leadership, and global cooperation.

Core Proposition

Empowerment is not charity; it is architecture.
Nations flourish when systems are designed for every girl to be educated, skilled, and leading — where protection evolves into participation, and participation into power.

Strategic Objectives

Institutionalise gender leadership through innovation-driven governance.
Build real-time gender data systems for transparency and accountability.
Embed policy laboratories within universities to connect research and reform.
Forge South–South and global partnerships positioning India as a Gender Diplomacy Hub.
Integrate cultural diplomacy, environmental ethics, and youth design leadership into BBBP’s next phase.

Illustrative Case Studies Embedded Throughout

Miss Earth Philippines – Environmental diplomacy through policy-linked advocacy.
Umling-La G-20 Commemoration – Women’s representation at the world’s highest diplomatic platform.
Tourism Ambassadorship of Himachal Pradesh – Culture and storytelling as governance instruments.
Eco Earth Foundation Ghana – Vocational empowerment and digital literacy as gender innovation.
Ghana EPA & Forestry Commission Collaborations – Cross-continental policy practice.
Keta Lagoon Mangrove Project – Climate resilience and livelihood integration.
Anti-Drug Campaign & Street 37 Food Drives – Empathy as civic design.

Mind-Shifting Reforms (Introduced in Later Sections)

National Gender Innovation Council (NGIC) – Embedding behavioural and design insights in all ministries.
AI-Enabled Gender Data Observatory – Real-time analytics for gender budgeting and outcomes.
HerVoice Fellowship – Leadership training model inspired by cross-continental youth diplomacy.
Digital Gender Equity Index (DGEI) – Ranking districts on education, safety, and workforce inclusion.
STEM for Her 2035 Mission – Targeting 50 % female representation in science and technology education.
Gender Innovation Fund – Financing women-led start-ups in green and digital economies.
India–Africa Gender Leadership Network – Replicating India’s gender-design frameworks abroad.

In essence, Empowerment by Design re-imagines BBBP as a living architecture — one where policy becomes participatory, leadership becomes inclusive, and governance itself becomes empathetic by design.

1 Context and Policy Evolution

When BetiBachaoBetiPadhao (BBBP) was launched in 2015, its rallying cry—save the daughter, educate the daughter—ignited a moral awakening. In the decade since, India’s social landscape has shifted from awareness to measurable reform: sex ratios have improved, enrolment has increased, and local governments have begun translating compassion into law.

Yet the next chapter demands something deeper: governance that designs empowerment into its DNA.

The Constitution already sketches this path—Articles 14, 15, and 39, aligned with the SDGs 4 (Education), 5 (Gender Equality), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities). What India needs now is not another campaign but an architecture of equity: systems where girls participate as decision-makers, innovators, and leaders.

From Advocacy to Architecture

Phase I (2015–2017): Awareness and pilot districts.
Phase II (2018–2020): Expansion through district task forces.
Phase III (2021–Present): Digital dashboards and CSR convergence.
Proposed Phase IV (2025 onwards):Leadership Integration—embedding gender design principles across ministries, education, and enterprise.

Symbolism in Practice

When VanshikaParmar represented India at the G-20 Presidency Commemoration in Ladakh, her presence illustrated this very transition. Standing on the world’s highest stage at Umling-La (19,024 ft), she personified how visibility, representation, and purpose converge. It was not only fashion diplomacy; it was policy symbolism—youth and women carrying India’s message of VasudhaivaKutumbakam to the globe.

That moment, and others like it, frame the moral foundation of Empowerment by Design.

2 Achievements and Impact

National Outcomes

Child Sex Ratio improved from 918 (2011) → 931 (2021).
Secondary-school enrolment of girls up 16 percent.
2 croreSukanyaSamriddhiYojana accounts opened.
400 district task forces institutionalised community action.

These successes, while commendable, remain uneven. Northern districts continue to lag, and data visibility is patchy. The next frontier is not only quantitative progress but qualitative leadership—ensuring that every statistic translates into a story of agency.

Case Study 1 – Miss Earth Philippines: Environmental Diplomacy in Action

At the Philippines-based Miss Earth pageant—one of the world’s four major international competitions and uniquely dedicated to environmental advocacy—contestants serve as climate diplomats. VanshikaParmar’s participation reframed India’s pageant legacy into an act of eco-governance.
Partnering with the Miss Earth Foundation, WWF, UNEP, Greenpeace, and Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, she led school tours, tree-plantations, and climate-literacy workshops—turning cultural soft power into environmental statecraft.

This experience proved a simple thesis: empowerment expands when design, diplomacy, and data converge.

Case Study 2 – Tourism Ambassadorship of Himachal Pradesh

As Tourism Ambassador of Himachal Pradesh, Vanshika transformed heritage into an educational tool. Through short films on Lamayuru, Alchi, and the Himalayan Film Festival, she turned narrative into policy—showing how storytelling can sustain local economies and women-led tourism cooperatives.

Case Study 3 – Umling-La International Runway

The Umling-La International Runway, where ambassadors from 14 G-20 nations joined, merged art and diplomacy at the world’s roof. Vanshika’s representation there exemplified India’s idea of beauty with responsibility—that aesthetics can serve nation-building when guided by ethics.

These instances will inform Section 5’s design framework, proving that policy can be participatory, creative, and emotionally intelligent.

3 Global and Theoretical Perspectives

Gender policy globally is migrating from welfare to innovation.

Country

Distinct Practice

Policy Lesson

Rwanda

61 % women in parliament via constitutional quota

Design law for representation, not exception.

Nordic Nations

Gender budgeting integrated in fiscal policy

Make equality a budgetary principle.

Bangladesh

Conditional cash transfers for girls’ education

Align economic incentives with social outcomes.

Ghana(case study below)

Cross-continental eco-tourism partnerships

South–South cooperation for sustainability.

Design Thinking in Governance

The Empowerment by Design philosophy fuses AmartyaSen’s Capability Approach with Design Thinking:

Empathy → Ideation → Experimentation → Execution.

This cycle treats citizens not as beneficiaries but as co-designers of policy.

Case Study – Ghana: Gender Leadership Through Eco-Diplomacy

Invited by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Ghana, Vanshika Parmar joined beauty ambassadors from six nations to advance sustainable tourism and environmental education.
Her role with the Eco Earth Foundation (ENEF Ghana) evolved into strategic programme design: vocational training, digital-literacy workshops, and financial-empowerment modules linking education to employment.

Key insight: South–South collaboration can prototype India’s gender-leadership model abroad.

At Accra City Hall, she joined Hon. Elizabeth KwatsoeSackey, the city’s first female mayor, to plant a Tree of Life, symbolising how ecological empathy translates into governance ethics.
At Keta Lagoon, she led mangrove plantations addressing climate change and hunger.
At Shai Hills Reserve, she promoted biodiversity diplomacy.
At the Forestry Commission’s inauguration, she advocated reforestation policy.
Each engagement became a living experiment in Empowerment by Design.

4 Structural Gaps and Challenges

Despite progress, systemic barriers persist.

1 Fragmented Coordination

Multiple ministries still operate in silos. Lessons from the Eco Earth Foundation—where education, environment, and tourism were integrated into one operational model—show that India’s ministries require a National Gender Innovation Council (NGIC) to synchronise agendas.

2 Weak Monitoring Architecture

Data remains static. An AI-enabled Gender Data Observatory, as proposed later, can convert district data into predictive analytics for faster interventions.

3 Unequal Regional Performance

Southern India leads in CSR recovery; northern states lag. Targeted “HerVoice Labs” could pilot behavioural-change curricula regionally, mirroring Ghana’s school-partnership approach at St. Martin’s Senior High School.

4 Cultural Resistance & Male Allyship Deficit

In Ghana’s anti-drug campaign, male students were mobilised as allies through peer education. India can adapt this model—introducing “Men as Allies” curricula via NCERT to institutionalise empathy early.

5 Youth Under-Representation

Most policy dialogue excludes citizens under 30. Vanshika’s youth-led diplomacy demonstrates how young professionals can become civic architects, not mere volunteers. The proposed Youth Gender Council of India will formalise this structure.

5 The Empowerment by Design Framework (VanshikaParmar Model)

5.1 Vision

To re-imagine BetiBachaoBetiPadhao as a National Innovation Ecosystem that cultivates gender leadership through design thinking, technology, and collaboration.

5.2 Pillars of the Framework

Governance by Design – National Gender Innovation Council (NGIC)
- A permanent inter-ministerial council under MWCD and NITI Aayog integrating behavioural insights, digital governance, and impact design.
- Each ministry to appoint a Chief Gender Designer ensuring all schemes include measurable equity metrics.
- Model Inspiration:VanshikaParmar’s coordination experience in Ghana, where environment, education, and tourism authorities converged under one mission.
Digital Gender Equity Index (DGEI)
- An open dashboard ranking districts on gender ratio, safety, education, workforce participation, and digital access.
- Incorporates AI-enabled predictive analytics for early-warning signals.
- Pilot Proof: Similar dashboards used by the Eco Earth Foundation Ghana to monitor skill-training outcomes.
HerVoice Fellowship
- Annual mentorship programme for 10,000 girls in schools and universities focusing on civic leadership, environmental ethics, and governance innovation.
- Mentorship alliances pairing senior women officers, diplomats, and scholars with emerging leaders.
- Prototype Reference:Vanshika’s collaboration with St Martin’s Senior High School, where she guided youth on eco-entrepreneurship and digital literacy.
Men as Allies Curriculum
- Developed with NCERT and UNICEF to institutionalise empathy and shared responsibility among boys aged 10–18.
- Builds on Ghana’s anti-drug youth campaign where male students were peer educators in behaviour change.
India for Her Forum
- A South–South cooperation platform connecting India, Ghana, Rwanda, and ASEAN for gender-policy exchange and leadership incubation.
- Envisions joint India–Africa Gender Leadership Summits alternating between New Delhi and Accra.
Cultural Narratives for Change
- Use of film, digital media, and storytelling to humanise BBBP.
- Example:VanshikaParmar’s tourism films from Himachal Pradesh transforming culture into economic and moral capital.

6 Leadership, Ambassadorship & Strategic Role of Youth

6.1 Rationale

India’s demographic dividend will yield results only when youth shift from symbolic representation to structural partnership. Empowerment by Design therefore embeds youth not as beneficiaries but as co-architects.

6.2 Case Studies in Leadership by Design

a. Eco Earth Foundation Ghana
Serving on the Board of Directors, VanshikaParmar helped shape initiatives linking vocational training with entrepreneurship, including digital and financial literacy modules for young women.
This mirrors India’s need for Vocational Leadership Centres under Skill India 3.0 — centres that link training to market access.

b. EPA and Forestry Commission Partnerships
By planting the Tree of Life alongside Ghana’s Environment Minister and EPA officials, Vanshika demonstrated how soft diplomacy can drive ecological policy.
India Insight: replicate this through a National Green Ambassador Programme where female youth leaders partner with the Forest Survey of India to co-design urban afforestation.

c. Keta Lagoon and Shai Hills Biodiversity Initiatives
Mangrove plantations and biodiversity tours proved that eco-tourism can empower rural women while protecting ecosystems.
Reform Proposal: create Eco Enterprise Zones in India’s coastal districts — jointly run by local women cooperatives and MOEFCC.

d. Anti-Drug and Community Service Campaigns
The anti-drug ambassadorship and food-donation camps at Street 37, Accra illustrate empathy-driven leadership.
Indian Adaptation: integrate mental-health and addiction-awareness modules into NSS and NCC curricula.

e. G-20 Ladakh Representation
Participation at the world’s highest diplomatic stage symbolised youth leadership in policy design — a prototype for India’s Youth Gender Council, recommended later.

6.3 Institutional Mechanism

Youth Gender Council of India — co-chaired by MWCD and NITI Aayog; to publish an Annual Youth Gender Report and monitor district HerVoice Cells.
Gender Leadership Repository — digital archive documenting youth-led policy models for inter-state replication.

6.4 Cultural Ambassadorship

From Himachal Pradesh’s heritage films to the Igbo King’s royal felicitation in Ghana, VanshikaParmar’s work underscores culture as diplomacy.
Her storytelling demonstrates that art can complement analytics — a synergy India must adopt by funding Cultural Innovation Labs in universities linking heritage management with public policy.

6.5 Outcomes by 2030

50 HerVoice Labs nationwide
50 % female representation in youth councils
Gender-leadership modules in 500 universities
Integration of gender innovation indicators in CSR audits

7 Policy Recommendations 2030 – 2040

7.1 Institutional Governance Reforms

Unified Gender Council of India (UGCI): legally mandated, synchronising MWCD, Education, Health, Rural Development, and Skill ministries.
National Gender Innovation Fund: seed-funding for women-led start-ups in green tech and digital economy.
Performance-Linked Grants: incentive structure for states achieving CSR parity and education equity.

7.2 Education and Skill Architecture

Introduce a Gender Leadership Curriculum through NCERT and UGC.
Launch STEM for Her 2035 Mission with a target of 50 % female STEM enrolment.
Establish Vocational Leadership Centres linking Skill India with local entrepreneurship — based on the Eco Earth vocational model.

7.3 Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship

Operationalise a Gender Equity Fund (GEF) to promote women-led green-enterprises.
Develop a HerFinance Digital Credit Platform for micro-loans to rural entrepreneurs.
Mandate 30 % procurement from women-owned enterprises in central schemes.

7.4 Digital Inclusion and Data Governance

Establish an AI-Enabled Gender Data Observatory integrating NFHS, PLFS, and UDISE datasets.
Introduce Digital Ethics and Cyber-Safety modules in secondary education.
Deploy Panchayat-Level Gender Dashboards for local transparency.

7.5 Global and Regional Cooperation

Formalise the India for Her Forum for policy exchange with Ghana and ASEAN.
Create the India–Africa Gender Innovation Network exporting India’s design-governance expertise.
Partner UN Women, OECD, and World Bank for benchmarking.

7.6 Legislative and Monitoring Framework

Pass a Gender Impact Assessment Act mandating audits across ministries.
InstitutionaliseGender-Responsive Budgeting within the Union Budget.
Develop a National Gender Leadership Index ranking states on equity and participation.

7.7 Implementable Reforms

Empathy Labs in Schools: AI-powered VR modules where students “experience” rural and gender diverse lives to build empathy.
Blockchain for Welfare: use distributed ledgers to track scholarship delivery and reduce leakage.
Gender SAT: national aptitude assessment for policy leadership, offering fellowships to top female and male graduates in public service.
National StoryBank:crowdsourced repository of grass-roots innovations by women entrepreneurs and youth, curated under Digital India.
AI Gender Companion: chat-based interface for rural women to access government schemes through voice commands in local languages.

7.8 Measurable Outcomes by 2040

1 : 1 Child Sex Ratio nationwide
45 % female labour participation (≈ $150 billion GDP gain)
100 % digital literacy for girls aged 10–24
50 % female representation in Panchayati Raj Institutions

8 Conclusion – From Mission to Movement

India’s daughters no longer seek protection; they seek partnership.
The next era of BetiBachaoBetiPadhao must transcend slogans and statistics to become a living philosophy — a design ethos where every reform measures opportunity created, not just protection offered.

The Empowerment by Design framework proposes a civilisation-scale shift:
from campaign to culture, from awareness to architecture.
It fuses policy with poetry — the intellect of governance with the heart of humanity.

As VasudhaivaKutumbakam teaches, the world is one family; but every family must be built.
Through design, empathy, and innovation, India can build a future where every girl is not just counted — she counts.

References

About the Author

VanshikaParmar is an international policy researcher, environmental advocate, and youth ambassador working at the intersection of gender leadership, sustainability, and cultural diplomacy.

From the hills of Nadaun, Himachal Pradesh, she rose to represent India at the Miss Earth pageant in the Philippines, serving as Philippines’ Tourism Ambassador to India and working with the Miss Earth Foundation, WWF, UNEP, and Greenpeace on environmental education and policy advocacy.

She represented India at the G-20 Presidency Commemoration in Ladakh and walked the Umling-La International Runway, the world’s highest fashion record, alongside G-20 delegates.

As Tourism Ambassador of Himachal Pradesh, she promotes her state’s culture and heritage through films and documentaries.

Her international diplomacy expanded to Africa when she joined the Eco Earth Foundation Ghana Board of Directors, leading programmes on eco-entrepreneurship, vocational training, and digital literacy.
She was felicitated by EPA Ghana, the Forestry Commission, and the Igbo King of Ghana, and served as an Ambassador for the Government’s Anti-Drug Campaign.

A graduate and postgraduate of Miranda House, University of Delhi, she is currently pursuing her doctorate.
An accomplished orator, singer, and dancer, she embodies a new generation of leaders who unite art with analysis and vision with service.

Through Empowerment by Design, VanshikaParmar presents India’s next chapter of inclusive leadership — a movement where policy listens, leadership includes, and innovation uplifts.

Vanshika Parmar