The National Girl Child Day was first initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India every year on January 24. First initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the National Girl Child Day aims to promote awareness on a range of issues including education, health, and nutrition.
The government, through schemes like 'Dhanalakshmi', has introduced various measures to strengthen the status of the girl child in the society. Launched by the Women and Child Development, the 'Dhanalakshmi' scheme ensures that basic needs of the girl child such as immunization, birth registration and school maintenance are taken care of till Class 8.
Other measures like the Prohibition of Child Marriage Restraint Act 2006, Pre- Conception & Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act 1994, Domestic Violence Act 2009, POCSO Act 2012, etc were introduced to stop various injustices against the girl child.
Objectives
- To increase awareness among the people and ensure every girl gets equal importance as their counterparts.
- To increase awareness against the social stigma and discrimination faced by girl.
- To generate awareness on the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio and create a positive environment around valuing the girl child.
Only 65.46 % of the female were found to be literate as against 82.14% of male, as per the 2011 census. The survey also revealed that gender discrimination was still prevalent in the society.
The government has introduced various schemes to ensure every girl child enjoys a better life. Here are few rights in India:
- Use of ultrasound tests for gender discrimination have been made illegal in India.
- Child marriages have been restricted.
- 'Save the Girl Child' has been introduced by the government.
- Introduction of Self-Help groups to ensure a better livelihood for girls in rural areas.