The National Commission for Women (NCW) organized a webinar on ‘Save The Girl Child’ on the National Girl Child Day today to promote rights of girl child and to increase awareness on various topics concerning girls including their education, health and nutrition. The discussion aimed at promoting a new perspective towards girl child by changing the society’s attitude towards girls and creating awareness on decreasing the discrimination faced by them.
The Chairperson Ms Rekha Sharma, O.P. Dhankar, Former Cabinet Minister, Haryana Govt and Pragya Vats, Head of Campaign, Save The Children attended the webinar as panelists. The Chairperson touched upon various issues concerning girls’ education, health, freedom of choice and right to make decisions. She said that girls stand on equal footing to boys in all spheres of life and that the government has been initiating women-centric policies to promote girl’s education.
“Girls have proven their mettle in every field and the National Commission for Women, through its programs has been ensuring safety and empowerment of girls in every sphere. Our government has been giving girls opportunities to demonstrate their leadership quality but there still is a need for the society to let go of its regressive mindset so that girls can come forward and be agents of change,” said Ms Sharma.
Dhankar said that the government has been actively coming up with initiatives to drive change in the society. “The change is now visible in the society; however, there is need for a larger change. Our Prime Minister and the government have been dedicated towards saving and promoting girl children which is now being reflected in the society,” said Dhankar.
Ms Vats stressed on the three Ps, Poverty, Patriarchy and Perception that deprive women of their possibilities and potential. She said that it was important to make collective efforts through cooperation and collaboration across the board so as to achieve empowerment and development of girls.
The National Commission for Women, working under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt of India, with its programs and initiatives has been dedicatedly working to eradicate deep seated discrimination against girls and this discussion was a step to further raise awareness on the subject.
The National Girl Child Day was first initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is celebrated on January 24 every year with an objective to provide support and opportunities to girls of India. It aims towards promoting awareness about the rights of the girl child, to increase awareness on the importance of girl education, their health and nutrition.
