NATIONAL GIRL CHILD DAY
“Look Ammi! Look what I found!” said a very excited Salma to her mother as she handed over an apple which she plucked from the field the morning. “Come Ammi let’s eat it”.”Oh, very nice beta. Let me wash it first. Then, you and your brother Nawab can eat it.” said the mother. The mother thoroughly washed the apple and cut it into two pieces. Nawab got the bigger piece of the two and Salma got the smaller one. Salma felt bad, however both of them enjoyed the sweet taste of the apple. Salma, a curious little child asked her mother as to why Nawab got the bigger piece. The mother said “Beta, Nawab is a growing boy. He has to be as strong as his father”. Azharuddin Ali, their father, comes home after grazing the cattle, and asks both the kids to get ready for the school. Salma says to Nawab, “Come Nawab lets race to the school!”. “Salma! Girls are not supposed to do that. It does not look good! Is this what our forefathers have taught us?” said the father to Salma. Nawab and a dejected Salma, then headed to school with their father.Such is the plight of the young girls in our country today. The National Girl Child Day in India is celebrated to raise awareness about such and many other differences and atrocities faced by girls and also to highlight the inequalities they suffer. National Girl Child Day is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to highlight the challenges girls face in India due to extreme gender bias. It is celebrated on January 24 every year. In our country National Girls Week is celebrated from 24 – 30 January every year. During the week, several awareness programs are conducted under the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” abhiyan. Furthermore, events like plantation drives, name-plate drive in daughters’ names, campaigns on women’s right and mass oaths for girl child protection is also conducted all over the country.National Girl Child Day Celebration – Times gone by Inception of the National Girl Child Day was done in the year 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The day focuses on celebration of the importance of girls in society while spreading awareness among people about the inequalities faced by girls in the country, promote awareness about the rights of a girl child, and stress on the importance of their education, health, and nutrition. The day envisages to bring a variation in the mentality of the Indian society towards the girl child. Aim of National Girl Child Day The multiple aims behind celebrating National Girl child Day are :-Provision of support and opportunities to female child in Indian society. Elimination of inequalities faced by girls.Ensure the girl child gets her equal rights and equal respect in the society.Increase consciousness of people and enable a change in the attitude.Removal of gender bias from society.How do we celebrate National Girl Child Day .The government of India has several forums to change the acuity amongst the people regarding the status of girls in society. To mark the day, the government conducts awareness campaigns under “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” abhiyan.The government airs advertisements on social media, print media and television with the message “Save the Girl Child.” Laterally, several NGOs and other organizations also collaborate in this celebration to raise awareness amongst society to bring equality and provide education to our girls. How Can Army Make a Difference In the armed forces, The National Girl Child Day is celebrated with a theme every year to promote women empowerment. The armed forces have taken the initiative to now recruit females as serving soldiers in Corps of Military Police. In the officer cadre, initiatives have already been taken to grant commission to women as officers in the regular army in arms like the Corps of Engineers, Army Air Defence, Corps of Signals, Army Medical and Dental Corps, Army Education Corps, the department of Judge and Advocate General and also the Regiment of Artillary. In case of pre commission cadres, the girls can enroll and undergo training with the male cadets in the institutions like the National Defence Academy, Officer’s Training Academy, The Air Force Academy and The Naval Academy.How can Company Commanders make a difference The Company Commanders in the Armed Forces are posted in such remote locations that sometimes the citizens are not aware of the initiatives taken by the government. Such initiatives can be communicated to the villagers in the area during the regular patrols. Also, as part of Op Sadbhavana, events can be conducted in conjunction with the local NGOs to create awareness about the equality between the gender. Furthermore, the girls in the area can be felicitated and given a platform where they can showcase their talent and prove their mettle, thereby making their family and community proud.Both girls and boys play an important part in the society. This fine balance should not be broken just on the basis of gender and the age-old traditions. It is now time to start afresh and educate the people to let go off the age-old teaching and give the girl child equal opportunities to showcase her talents so that the society as a whole can grow and prosper.
