National Girl Child Day is observed every year in India on January 24 to promote awareness about the rights of a girl child and to promote the importance of their education, health, and nutrition.
The day was first initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It was celebrated for the first time with an aim to raise awareness about the inequalities faced by girls and women in society at various levels.
To mark the occasion this year, the Women and Child Development Department will celebrate National Girl Child Week from 24 to 30 January. Several programmes, campaigns and workshops will also be organised throughout the day. Some of them include the "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao" signature campaign, plantation and nameplate drive in the names of daughters, awareness campaign on women's rights, and mass oaths for girl child protection.
"Today, on the occasion of #NationalGirlChildDay @DselEduMinistry, @EduMinOfIndia is organising an event with the theme "Self Defence Training for Girls" from 4:00 PM onwards," the Ministry of Education tweeted on Tuesday.
The theme for National Girl Child Day 2023 has not been announced yet. Notably, 'Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow' was the theme for 2019. In 2020, the theme was 'My voice, Our Common Future'. 'Digital Generation, Our Generation' was the theme for National Girl Child Day in 2021.
According to the women and child development ministry, the main objective of National Girl Child Day is to raise awareness and tackle the issues of inequalities that girls face in the country and enlighten everyone about the rights of a girl child. It aims to support every girl child in the country and remove gender biases.
