National Girl Child Day 2020 in India will be celebrated on January 24, Friday. Girl Child, whenever this term is brought about in any conversation in India, it is often stunted with paramount inequalities, patriarchal discrimination or in some cases the conscious efforts to raise awareness on these issues. This is the main motivation behind National Girl Child Day celebrations in India. National Girl Child Day holds a lot of history, objectives, significance and importance in this fight for equality in India. Empowering Quotes You Can Share With the Little Girls That Will Make Their Day.

Started by the Government of India and Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008, National Girl Child Day celebrations are focused on raising awareness on the problems that the girl child continues to face, from female foeticide to child marriages and more. As we prepare to celebrate National Girl Child Day 2020, here is everything you need to know about this annual commemoration.

When is National Girl Child Day Celebrated?

National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India on January 24 every year. This observance began in 2008 and was an initiative started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Government of India.

Significance of National Girl Child Day

Inequalities faced by the girl child in India are infamous, and its implications continue to torment millions of lives. In addition to threatening issues like female foeticide and child marriages, girl children also face inequalities in education, jobs and more. Many women across the country feel that they are not met with the same options that boys get and this celebration aims at bridging this gap.

Objectives of National Girl Child Day

The National Girl Child Day celebration focuses on three main objectives:

  1. To raise awareness on the rights of the girl-child

  2. To bring to the podium the various atrocities and inequalities that girl children fight day in and day out.

  3. To promote and increase the importance given to education, health, and well being for girls.

How is National Girl Child Day celebrated?

Every year the government takes initiatives to discuss these main objectives with the help of various annual themes. The theme of National Girl Child Day last year was 'Empowering girls for a better tomorrow.' This day is marked by organizing different awareness campaigns on saving the girl child, their rights, nutrition, health and other issues. The government has also taken other measures like banning the use of ultrasound for gender discrimination and making child marriages illegal. As per the Census 2011, the literacy rate for females is 65.46% as against 82.14% of males. This data shows the discrimination and inequalities against women and girls are still prevalent in the 21st century.

To improve this scenario, the government launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. We also celebrate this day around the globe on October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child to highlight similar problems girls across the world continue to battle. So this National Girl Child Day, start a conversation on the importance of equal rights and opportunities for all children, irrespective of their gender.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 21, 2020 10:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).