In India, The National Girl Child Day is observed every year on the 24th of January to empower women and girls by educating the general population on their rights and challenges. The day aims to foster a gender sensistive culture which virtually eliminates gender discrimination, while at the same time ensuring that every girl is treated with equal respect and protection. It demonstrates the progress made towards reducing gender disparity as well as the efforts that still need to be made in order to achieve full gender equality.
National Girl Child Day Overview
The celebration of the National Girl Child Day was initiated in the year 2008. Within rural development context, National Girl Child Day attempts to highlight the external issues like advocacy and education. And even though some progress has been made, child marriage, female foeticide, male dominance, poverty, lack of education and poor treatment of women are still rampant in many areas of India.
The day has been designated and celebrated as one of the common concerns of the humanity-gender balance. India is a country which has for a long time had cultures and institutions working against the ability and potential of girls to perform. National Girl Child Day is a chance to do something about and confront the deeply rooted discrimination against girls. It is an opportunity to create awareness and campaign on matters affecting children in the society so that people pay attention to their issues at all levels of society, be it at home, in school or at work.
Discrimination Against Girl Children in India
A child in India can suffer from so many things at once. They do not only need to deal with so many issues but also adapt to everything new which is being thrown at them. Child marriage is by far the most shocking issue for children to deal with, especially young girls. Reports suggest that millions of girls are forced into marriages before they even turn 18. Child marriage brings with it a lot of dire consequences such as domestic violence, mental health issues, pregnancy, education and so much more.
Gender-Based Violence: As soon as a girl child is born, life as they know it begins under siege. Girls endure all kinds of abuse including physical, psychological and sexual. While growing up, a girl can expect gender violence such as rape, beating, abuse, and even gender violence like femicide. All these acts put girls in a dangerous situation that may endanger their mental and physical well-being.
Marriage at a young age is the main reason girls are unable to further education. Gender inequality leads to most parents choosing to invest in boys’ education instead. In addition, proper
Family girls from lower earning backgrounds tend to be the most affected by malnutrition which greatly causes them to suffer from poor health for a long time.
Inevitably, girls encounter prejudice and harassment everywhere. Be it in schools, public, or within their household. The combination of all these acts with gender inequality is detrimental as it harms a girl’s self-image.
To develop a country further, it is important to empower girl children, considering the impact they possess. The United Nations works in nations to educate girls in an attempt to eradicate poverty, and their support has proven to be invaluable. They ensure the involve girls so that they can participate in the economic and social development of the country.
Programs that advocate the education for girls have a greater impact in society because when women have access to education, women tend to be more healthy. Today’s woman is more likely to take up leadership positions, business, and other spheres of decision making. In addition, they become more responsible and knowledgeable about health, career, and future.
Development of a country starts with the education of girls. If girls are offered equal job opportunities, they stand chances of improving the economy, poverty rates, and the living conditions of their families drastically.
By giving equal opportunities to the girl child, society’s norms and stereotypes revolving around gender roles can be altered. Girls who are encouraged to pursue their passions and interests break the barriers set around emplyment and different professions being limited to boys only.
An educated girl has a higher likelihood of having advanced medical care, better nutrition, and emerging basic needs which will enable her to become a responsible and healthy woman who is capable of taking care of her family and society. Education also aids in violence victimization and early marriages amongst women.
Programs Targeting The Status Of The Girl Child
The government of India has initiated certain programs towards welfare of the girl child which are worth mentioning. Some of these programs are:
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: Aimed at empowering girls by dealing with violence against them. At the same time, it promotes the education of girls in order to improve the persisting unfavorable child sex ratio. The scheme seeks to eliminate gender-biased negative social practices while aiming to augment the value of the girl child. It hopes to see girls “healthy and educated”.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: This is a government sponsored saving scheme targeted to parents so that they open accounts for the girl child and start saving.
Kishori Shakti Yojana: This scheme has been designed to assist adolescent girls in their social, mental and physical development through education on health, nutrition and medical aid.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana: This scheme intends to give financial assistance at child birth while ensuring optimum care for mothers during pregnancy and lactation.
Conclusion
While celebrating the National Girl Child Day, it shouldn’t only be taken as an opportunity to celebrate, but as an opportunity to focus on some serious attention that should go towards the safeguarding, nurturing and development of the girl child. In as much as we have made progress towards addressing issues that affects girls, much remains to be done. There must be actual change when governments, communities and families come together to address the paradigm shifting norms that support and protect girls and aim to provide them with better opportunities.
On the National Girl Child Day, we should be ready to take an oath to protect every girl child’s right to education, opportunity and love. Otherwise, it will just be a dream to talk about gender equality instead of working towards a world where gender equality is a reality.
If you are interested for more: North Delhi: 5 Powerful Keys to Unlocking Its Rich History, Education, and Culture National Girl Child Day 2025: Empowering Girls to Champion Gender Equality
