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National girl child day is celebrated every year on 24th of January as a national observance day for the girl child. This celebration was started to offer more supports and new opportunities to the girls in the country. It is celebrated to increase the awareness among people about all the inequalities faced by the girl child in the society. Inequality about girl child is a vast problem which includes many areas like inequality in education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, protection, honour, child marriage and so many.
National girl child day has been started as a national girls development mission by the Government of India. This mission raises the awareness among people all over the country about the importance of girl’s promotion. It enhances the meaningful contribution of the girls in decision making processes through the active support of the parents and other community members.
National Girl Child Day 2024
National Girl Child Day 2024 was celebrated on Wednesday, 24th of January.
The Government has not officially announced a theme for National Girl Child Day 2024. Previously, the slogans were “Digital Generation, Our Generation, Our Time is Now—Our Rights, Our Future.”
Many programmes were organised for the occasion including awareness campaign on save girl child, child sex ratios and creating a healthy and safe environment for a girl child.
Haryana was awarded for its good performance for the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ initiative of the national government. The award was presented on 24th January at an event in New Delhi organised on the occasion of National Girl Child Day. Rajasthan was also included in the award for its improved performance for the same.
Andhra Pradesh celebrated a weeklong event on the occasion of National Girl Child Day. The event included awareness programs, self-defence training, drawing and painting competitions for children, child literacy etc.
National Girl Child day also marks the anniversary of ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ initiative of the government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development facilitated various secretaries, commissioners and other government officials for their improved performance and support towards the initiative. Can Check for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Slogans
Various celebrities and dignitaries also observed the day by sharing messages and pictures with their daughters on social media and emphasised the importance of providing a better and safe environment for the girl child.
Why National Girl Child Day is Celebrated
It is celebrated to promote the girls position in the society to make their living better among society people. It is very necessary to remove different types of social discrimination and exploitation that girls generally face in their life. To increase the awareness about the necessity of the girls right in the society, various political and community leaders speech to the public about the girls right for the equal education and fundamental freedoms.
Ensuring girls achieve their full potential is imperative, and this begins with providing a safe and enabling environment. Girls need awareness not only of their legal rights and life facts but also of their entitlement to quality education, nutrition, and healthcare. To navigate life’s challenges effectively, girls must actively inform themselves about legislations, including the Domestic Violence Act 2009, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, and Dowry Prohibition Act 2006. This knowledge empowers girls to claim their rights and face the complexities of life with resilience.
In our country, female literacy rate is still 53.87% and one third of the youngster girls are malnourished. Reproductive age group women are anemic and suffering from various other diseases just because of the gender discrimination in the society and limited access to the health services. Various steps have been taken at national and state level by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to improve the girl child status through a range of schemes.
The Women and Child Development Ministry had implemented a scheme called “Dhanalaksmi” to make cash transfer to the girl child family to fulfil the basic needs such as immunization, birth registration, school enrollment and maintenance up to the Class VIII. The Right to Education Act has made available the free and necessary education to the girl child.
How National Girl Child Day is Celebrated
To promote the position of girls in society, various events across the country actively organize celebrations for Girl Child Day. Government of India organizes a big campaign to increase people consciousness towards the girl children in the Indian society.
National Girl Child Day celebration was started by the Women and Child Development Ministry since 2008 to celebrate as the national observance. Through this campaign, the Indian Government has highlighted the inequalities towards the girl in the Indian society. On this day, the government actively runs various advertisements on TV channels, local newspapers, and radio stations, conveying the message of “Save the Girl Child.” NGO organizations and non government organizations also come together and take part in the celebration to fight against the social stigma about girl child.
Objectives of Celebrating National Girl Child Day
- It is celebrated as a national observance to increase the consciousness of the people and offer new opportunities to the girl child in the society.
- To remove all the inequalities faced by the girl children of the Indian society.
- To make certain that every girl child is getting proper respect and value in the Indian society.
- To ensure that the girl children are getting their all the human rights in the country.
- To work against diminishing the child sex ratio in the India and change the people mind about the girl child.
- To initiate couple towards the girl child by increasing awareness about the importance and role of the girl child.
- To address the girl children issues associated to their health, respect, education, nutrition and etc.
- To propagate the gender equality among people in India.
Themes of National Girl Child Day
Theme for national girl child day 2024- Not announced
Slogan for girl child day 2023 was “Digital Generation, Our Generation, Our Time is Now—Our Rights, Our Future”
Theme for national girl child day 2022 – “Digital Generation, Our Generation”
Theme for national girl child day 2020 – “My voice, our common future”
Theme for national girl child day of 2017 – “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP)”.
Theme for national girl child day of 2018 – “A girl is a flower, not a thorn…”.
Girl Child Rights in India
Government of India has taken various steps by declaring variety of schemes to make the girl child status better. Some of are:
- Sex determination during pregnancy through the clinics has been blocked by the government.
- Child marriages of the girls have been restricted.
- Antenatal care has been made necessary for all the pregnant women to fight with the malnutrition, high illiteracy, poverty and infant mortality in the society.
- “Save the Girl Child” scheme has been introduced by the government to save the girl child.
- Girl child education status in India has been improved through the free and compulsory primary school education for both boys and girls till 14 years of age.
- To improve the status of the girl child in India, the government of India has reserved 1/3 seats in the local government for women.
- Anti-MTP, anti-sati laws, anti-dowry Act has also been introduced by the legislature to enhance the women status and employment opportunities.
- Five Year Plan has been implemented to pay attention towards the education status in the backward states of the country.
- School children are well availed with the uniforms, noon meal and educational materials and repayments to the SC and ST caste girl’s families.
- Balwadi-cum-creeches have been implemented for caring the girl babies and attend the primary school.
- The government has organized “Operation Blackboard” and other programs to advance teacher education and improve school services.
- Establishing the Open Learning System aims to facilitate girls in backward areas.
- A declaration has been made for the girl child, emphasizing the need to provide equal treatments and opportunities from the very beginning to expand their opportunities
- The government has introduced Self-Help Groups (SHG) as the main policy to enhance the livelihood of girls in rural areas.
National Girl Child Day Quotes and Slogans
- Empower a girl, empower a nation.
- She dreams, she achieves – celebrating the spirit of the girl child.
- Girls with dreams become women with vision.
- Invest in her today, empower a leader for tomorrow.
- Educate a girl, change the world.
- Every girl is a story waiting to be written, let’s give her the pen.
- Girls are the architects of the future, let’s build them up.
- A girl’s potential knows no bounds, let’s break the chains and set her free.
- Daughters are not just equal, they are essential.
- Celebrate the girl child, for she is the heartbeat of our future.
Conclusion
It’s really important to tell everyone about a law that wants to stop kids from getting married too early. We also need everyone to agree and accept this new law called the Prohibition of Child Marriage Amendment Bill. Doing this together will work better than using force.
The National Family Health Survey found that we need to make sure girls get the same chances in school and that both moms and kids eat well. This is super important.
FAQ’s on National Girl Child Day
What is the theme of the Girl Child Day 2022?
The theme for Girl Child Day 2022 was empowering girls for a brighter future, emphasizing education, health, and equal opportunities.
Why is January 24th National Girl Child Day?
January 24th is celebrated as National Girl Child Day in India to raise awareness about the challenges faced by girls, promote gender equality, and highlight the importance of education and healthcare for girls. This date was chosen to commemorate the day the Women's Education Society was founded in 1984, with a focus on girls' education and empowerment.
What is the slogan of National Girl Child Day?
The widely recognized slogan Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao represents a prominent campaign dedicated to the preservation of the girl child and emphasizes the provision of free education. This initiative has significantly contributed to helping many girls and women.
Who founded National Girl Child Day?
National Girl Child Day was initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India. The primary objective is to enhance public awareness regarding the inequalities and challenges confronted by girls in Indian society.
When was first girl child Day celebrated?
The first National Girl Child Day was celebrated on January 24, 2008.
