Tag: girl child

National Girl Child Day Celebrated Across the Country to Promote Awareness about the Rights of Girl Child

 The Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrated the National Girl Child Day on 24th January, 2022. In view of COVID-19 situation in the country, the programmes were organised on virtual/online mode across the nation to promote awareness about the rights of the Girl Child and to celebrate their achievements in various fields.

Online Interactive Programmes     

As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a virtual function was organised to recognise the exemplary achievements of children by conferring Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) Awards-2022. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted virtually with the winners of PMRBP-2022.  The children along with their parents and concerned District Magistrate of their respective district joined the event from their district Head Quarters.

A series of online live interactive programmes were also organised by various Ministries in which the Ministers interacted with young girls and motivated them to have belief in their ideas and to follow their heart.

(i)The Ministry of Women and Child Development together with UNICEF celebrated ‘Kanya Mahotsav,’ a festival of the girl child. Union Women and Child Development Minister, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, engaged in an interactive online conversation with nine adolescent children from different States. The interaction and the digital campaign emphasized, ‘Har Ladki Khaas Hai’, i.e. ‘every girl is special’.

Delivering the keynote address, Minister Smt Irani welcomed the participation by the adolescent girls and boys who shared their stories of courage, determination and hope. Acknowledging UNICEF’s support in bringing forth these voices of children from across India and suggestions from the children, the Minister  requested for focus on mental health challenges faced by children and support the Samvaad programme with Ministry of WCD; to bring together a coalition of young girls who contribute to ending child marriage in their communities and incorporate the recommendations for services for children in alternative care and family based care situations through Mission Vatsalya.

The Regional Director, UNICEF South Asia, George Laryea Adjei appreciated India’s steadfast commitment and significant progress in preventing child marriage, promoting adolescent empowerment, and ending violence against women and girls. He emphasized UNICEF’s commitment to this agenda and working with the Government of India.

(ii)Union Minister, Ministry of Textile, Commerce and Industries, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal held a virtual interactive session with young girls who have made noteworthy innovations in different areas.

(iii)Union Minister of State, Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh also interacted on a virtual platform with young women entrepreneurs who have made noteworthy achievements in the field of science, technology and innovation.

 

Webinars

Following webinars were organised by the WCD Ministry on the National Girl Child Day:

(i)National Commission of Women (NCW) organised a virtual discussion on the topic “Save the Girl Child” through which their speakers contributed to raise awareness about the rights of girls and on the importance of girl education. Shri Om Prakash Dhankhar Ex Cabinet Minister, Haryana discussed on the “Ideologies, Mindset and Role of the society towards saving the girl child” and Ms Pragya Vats, Head of campaigns- Save the Children, Bal Raksha Bharat enlightened the attendees on “Awareness about the rights of girls and the importance of girl education and  various policies and its outcomes”.

(ii)The Ministry of Women and Child Development and the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) organized a National Webinar on “Addressing Comprehensive Needs of Adolescent Girls in India #ladkiyanjahankhusiyanwahan” on 24th  January, 2022, the National Girl Child Day. The objectives of the Webinar were to: celebrate the National Girl Child Day; provide an understanding on the nutritional needs of adolescent girls; identify the challenges faced by adolescent girls with reference to education; and understanding the importance of psycho-social development among the adolescent girls. A total of 3000 participants from across the country participated in the Webinar. The participants included: adolescent girls from child care institutions, students from colleges, Government Officials, Counsellors, functionaries of Anganwadi Services Scheme and Child Protection Scheme, principals, teachers, PhD scholars, officials from civil society organisations, social workers, administrators, etc.

(iii)National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) organised a webinar on the topic, ‘Legislative Rights of a Girl Child’ which was live streamed on NCPCR’s Facebook and Twitter. Justice Shri Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri, former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court was the main speaker for the webinar.

 

Programs organized by different Ministries

(i)M/o Education, M/o Skill Development, M/o Youth Affairs & Sports, Ministry of Science & Technology organised informative webinars on various issues to highlight the achievements of their Ministries in empowering girl child in the field such as education, health, hygiene, marriage, empowerment, gender equality etc. on the occasion of the National Girl Child Day.

 

(ii)The Department of school Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education celebrated the achievements of girls on National Girl Child Day under 75th Azadi Ka Mahotsav. The theme of the programme was ‘Hamari Beti Hamari Shaan’. 75 Girl achievers in different fields of academics, sports, Kala Utsav,  Rashtiya Avishkar Abhiyan, environment and culture were  selected across India to participate in the programme.

 

In this programme, panellists namely, (i) Ms. Anita Karwal, Union Secretary, Ministry of Education, (ii) Ms. Tessy Thomas, Scientist, (iii) Ira Singhal, IAS, (iv) Ms. Ankita Sharma, IPS (v) Ms. Kanta Singh , Deputy Representative, UN Women India and (vi) Ms. Bhavna Kanth, First Fighter Pilot were invited to interact with the achievers and share their life experiences  and success stories with the girls. The profile of the panellists were shown highlighting their work and achievements in the programme and a show reel was also shown during the programme depicting the success stories and the achievements of all the 75 participants.

 

(iii) Ministry of Culture organized Rangoli Utsav ‘Umang’ to celebrate National Girl Child Day under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. A nationwide event was organized where the participants drew rangoli decorations on the roads and squares named after the female freedom fighters or the female role models of the country. The rangoli decorations were made at more than 70 locations in 19 States.

 

Celebration under BBBP scheme in districts

All the 405 multi-sectoral districts under BBBP organised programmes such as:

(i)Gram Sabha/Mahila Sabha on CSR

(ii)Programme with schools (Gov/Privates) on value of girl child

(iii)Posters/Slogan-writing/Drawing/ Painting competition among school on STEM related topics

(iv)Stories in local media about BBBP local champions etc.

Some of the events organised by the districts are as follows:

(i)Felicitation of talented girls by Dr. Virendra Kumar, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.

(ii)Webinar session on menstrual hygiene in Saraikela, Jharkhand.

(iii)Felicitation of block level toppers of 10th and 12 and district toppers of 10th and 12th by District Collector Saraikela, Jharkhand.

(iv)Drawing competition among the Child club members of Ramachandi child club, Kendrapara District, Odisha.

(v)Additional District Magistrate and the team of ICDS Nalanda, Bihar celebrated the National Girl Child Day by blowing the balloon and discussing on to improve the level of health, nutrition and education of the girl child.

(vi)In North Sikkim, National Girl Child Day was celebrated at Mangshila Gram Prashashan Kendra. Shri Pintso Namgyal Lepcha MLA, Panchayats, Zilla Member and Adolescent Girls participated in the programme. Programme started with awareness on the scheme of Girls like Suknya Samridhi Yojana, Child rights, POCSO etc. by DPO/Mangan./North Sikkim.

(vii)Paintings were drawn by the students of GSSS JASSIA Rohtak, Haryana to mark the occasion of National Girl Child Day.

Some Important Tweets on National Girl Child Day

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IS GIRL CHILD A BURDEN ?

TO A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, GIRL CHILD IS CONSIDERED TO BE A BURDEN. EDUCATING A GIRL IS BELIEVED TO BE OF NO USE AS, PEOPLE THINK THAT ULTIMATE GOAL OF A WOMEN IS TO WORK FOR HER FAMILY AND DO THE HOUSEHOLD CHORES.

YOUNG GIRLS ARE WEDDED OFF AT A VERY YOUNG AGE AND THIS TOO BECOMES AN ACHIEVEMENT FOR A ;LOT OF PEOPLE. HEAVY DOWRY IS DEMANDED FROM GIRL’S FATHER , AS IT ASSUMED THAT THE GROOM’S FAMILY IS TAKING OVER THE BURDEN OF THE BRIDE’S FAMILY BY GETTING THEIR SON MARRIED HIS DAUGHTER.

IN THE PAST, IN MANY VILLAGES, IF A GIRL WAS CHILD BORN, SHE WAS KILLED OR WAS DISOWNED. IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE OFFER PRAYER’S TO GODDESSES, THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS A GIRL CHILD IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.

WOMEN’S ARE RAISED TO BE AN “ADARSHWAADI AND SANSKAARI” { RESPECTFUL , OBEDIENT AND KIND } WIFE. THEY ARE TAUGHT THAT THEIR GOAL IS TO NURTURE CHILDREN AND WORK LIKE A SLAVE TO THEIR HUSBANDS. THEY ARE TAUGHT TO SPEAK LESS AND OBEY THE WORDS OF HER IN-LAWS. THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE LESS ABLED THAN BOYS. THEY ARE SHOWCASED AS WEAK AND FRAGILE.THEY ARE CAGED AND ARE MADE TO CONFINE IN THEIR HOMES. THEY ARE NOT OFFERED ENOUGH OPPORTUNITIES, THEN WHY ARE THEY UNDERESTIMATED?

IN TODAY’S TIME, WOMEN ARE WORKING IN PACE WITH THE MAN. THEY ARE TAKING CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES BETTER THAN THE MAN.

WHY CONSIDER THEM TO BE A BURDEN ? WHY NOT GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE THEIR STRENGTH ?WHY? BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT SHE IS MUCH MORE ABLED THAN YOUR BOYS? THESE QUESTIONS MIGHT SEEM QUITE ROUGH BUT ANSWER TO THESE WOULD CLEAR AS TO WHY ARE THE GIRLS CONSIDERED TO BE A BURDEN.

SHE IS NOT A BURDEN. SHE IS AN ASSET. LET HER LIVE HER LIFE ON HER OWN TERMS. LET HER LIVE. LET HER FLY, CAUSE SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO REACH THE SKY.

Female Feticide

Even after years of development and advancement misogyny still prevails in society. And this issue prevails because of the existence of social evils. Even in the 21st century, many people find girls as a burden on the family and not capable of achieving anything, but doing household chores. The stigma still exists mostly because of the dowry culture. As still having a girl child means giving hefty dowry for their marriage. Other than that, ‘preference of son over daughter as for old age security’, and the thought that ‘daughters can only be only involved in domestic work as they are ultimately going to be married off, and thus there is no need of education for them’, and more such narrow-minded thoughts exist in the society. All such thoughts and beliefs result in female feticide.

What is Female Feticide?

Female feticide the process of identifying the sex or gender of the fetus or the unborn child still in the mother’s womb, and aborting it if found out to be a girl. The sex of the fetus is determined through prenatal diagnostic tests. Sex-selective abortion results in the murder of a female fetus.

India Government’s Take on the Matter

Female foeticide hampered the child sex ratio. Some parts of India have a critically low child sex ratio. As per the 2011 census, the number of girl child in the age group of 0 – 6 years is 75,837,152 out of 158,789,287 which accumulates to 47.8%, and the number of girl child in the age group of 7 years and above is 540,772,113 which accumulates to 48.6% of the total number of children in this age group, which is 1,051,404,135. Even the literacy rate is low in girls. The literacy rate of male children stands at 80.9% whereas the literacy rate in girls stands at 64.6%, as per the 2011 census data. It is even seen that the rate of dropping out of school and higher education is more for girls.

 ‘Pre – Conception and Pre – Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT), was enacted by the Parliament of India to put a curb on female foeticides. The act banned prenatal sex determination and regulates the pre-natal diagnostic techniques that are capable of determining the sex of the fetus, only for detecting any abnormalities.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme – Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (BBBP) was launched on 22nd January 2015 at Panipat, Haryana by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An initial fund of Rs 100 crore was accumulated for the implementation of this scheme. It mainly targets Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab, and Delhi, where the child sex ratio is critically low.

The scheme involves enforcement of ‘Pre – Conception, and Pre – Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT) and spreading nationwide awareness and multi-sector action focused on 100 districts throughout the country in its first phase where the child sex ratio is specifically low. Pre – Conception and Pre – Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT) was enacted to stop the practice of female feticide.

The scheme aimed at eradicating the practice of female feticide which is the reason for the declining child sex ratio (CSR) as the practice of abortion of female fetus and murder of girl child is done as the girl child is seen as a liability on the family.

Today, the world collectively talks about equality and where women are performing at par with the men; where women are stepping on the moon; marking excellence in the field of science, technology, and inventions, still is divided by a society that believes in killing a child which has not seen the world just because it is a female, and is believed to be of no good and a burden because of the social evils they created themselves.

Female feticide is a crime and also threatens the human right of ‘right to life’. It is important not just to literate but educate and aware the society about such social stigmas existing in the society.