Thursday, March 2 2006 16:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Is there discrimination between girls and boys in the US like in India? This was a question posed by inquisitive Tabassum to the First Lady Laura Bush today(Mar 2,2006).

"A little bit" was the answer given by Laura during an interaction with children of Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice here.

However, Laura replied to 17-year-old Tabassum that since the girls in the US were given voting rights 95 years back, the situation was not the same as in India and 'there are many more women in colleges' and getting education in her country.

Inquisitiveness was palpable among the children during the interaction and the youngsters, majority of them girls, wanted to know all about the basic issues affecting them, such as trafficking of women and children, child abuse and domestic violence from the First Lady.

On whether there were kids like them who could not afford education, Laura said, "Sure, there are children in the US who cannot afford education." But she also mentioned that there were public schools for them and as per law education was compulsory for all in America.

Laura, who was welcomed at the institute in a traditional Rajasthani way, was so taken by the emotions that she kept calling the children, who were preparing for the event for days, for photographs with her.