National Girl Child Day 2024 - A Special Day to Promote Gender Equality in India

Name of the event	National Girl Child Day 2024
Observed In	India
Established by	The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India
Type of event	National
Objective	To promote awareness of issues faced by girl child in India
Frequency	Annual
Date	24 January
Day	Wednesday

It is quite unfortunate that girl children are still not accepted by many families in some parts of India. Although things have improved in the past couple of decades there is still a lot of work to be done.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, celebrates National Girl Child Day to raise awareness about the inequalities faced by girls in India.

It is also a day to recognize the importance of female education, health, and nutrition. The National Girl Child Day 2024 is on Wednesday, 24 January 2024.

If you think that girls in India face discrimination in various fields of life then you should spare a day and observe National Girl Child Day.

History of National Girl Child Day

The first National Girl Child Day was celebrated on 24 January 2008. It was established by the Government of India during the tenure of UPA 2 under PM Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Since then, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been celebrating this day every year with different themes.

Objectives and Significance

Here are some of the main objectives why we celebrate National Girl Child Day.

Promote Gender Equality – This one is the most important objective of the National Girl Child Day. On this day, various organisations in India highlight the importance of gender equality and giving equal rights to girls.
Education and Empowerment – Unfortunately, many girls in India are forced to quit their studies at a young age. Another reason to observe National Girl Child Day is to make people aware of how important girls’ education is.
Health and Nutrition – In many rural families of India, girl children do not get as good nutritious food as boys. On this day, the people of India take a pledge that they will provide healthy food to girls in their families.
Health and Hygiene – This day also focuses on improving the health and well-being of girls. It raises awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene and access to necessary facilities.
Eradicate Child Marriage – Child Marriage is disastrous for girls’ health, both physically and mentally. Authorities take National Girl Child Day as an opportunity to educate everyone that we should not do such things with our children.

Ways to Observe National Girl Child Day

I have created a list of a few ways by which you can observe National Girl Child Day as mentioned below.

Organise awareness campaigns – If you can then you should conduct rallies, marches, or awareness campaigns to make maximum people aware about the discrimination faced by a girl child in society.
Skill development programs – You may arrange a skill development program for women so that they can get their desired job and get empowered.
Mentorship programs – If you are good at something then you may consider launching a mentorship program for girls and guide them towards a fruitful career.
Educate Children – In case you have kids at home then you should teach them that we should treat girls and boys equally. We must not encourage discrimination in any form based on gender.
Social media campaigns – Create awareness about this day by posting on your social media account. You can post using the hashtags – #Nationalgirlchildday #Nationagirlchildday2024.

National Girl Child Day Theme 2024

The theme of National Girl Child Day 2024 has not yet been published by the government. The previous year, the theme was “Digital Generation, Our Generation, Our Time is Now—Our Rights, Our Future”.

The theme emphasised on how a modern-day woman is doing great in all fields of life. They are walking shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts.

Girl Children Marriages in India

On a positive note, the girl-child marriage rate in India has decreased drastically. We should give credit to both the state and central governments of India. Here are some highlights regarding the same available in a report by the Registrar General of India.

Year	Percentage of women getting married under the age of 18
1981	43.4%
1991	35.3%
2001	14.4%
2011	3.7%

Successful Indian Women in various fields

Politics	Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, Mamata Banerjee, Sushma Swaraj, Mayawati
Science	Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Tessy Thomas, Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Shahla Habib, Manju Sharma
Business	Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chanda Kochhar, Ekta Kapoor, Indra Nooyi, Naina Lal Kidwai
Sports	Mary Kom, Sania Mirza, Mithali Raj, Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu
Film Industry	Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Kareena Kapoor Khan
Arts/ Culture	Amrita Sher-Gil, Arundhati Roy, Shobhaa De, Mira Nair, Ritu Kumar