Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed the women’s development concept into a women-led development campaign, creating numerous opportunities for women to progress in the country, Home Minister Amit Shah said today.
In a tweet on the National Girl Child Day, he said women had earned recognition in several fields as a result of the opportunities given to them.
Shah said the Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign had become a people’s campaign following the Prime Minister’s appeal, and there was a significant improvement in the gender ratio.
On National Girl Child Day, the National Commission for Women (NCW) organized a webinar on Save the Girl Child to promote the rights of the girl child and to increase awareness on various topics concerning girls including their education, health, and nutrition.
The discussion focused on promoting a new perspective towards girl children by changing society’s attitude towards girls and creating awareness on decreasing discrimination faced by them.
Chairperson Rekha Sharma; former Haryana Minister O P Dhankar, and Head of Campaign Save the Children Pragya Vats attended the webinar as panelists.
The Chairperson touched upon various issues concerning girls’ education, health, freedom of choice, and the right to make decisions. She said that girls stand on equal footing to boys in all spheres of life and that the government has been initiating women-centric policies to promote girls’ education.
Girls have proven their mettle in every field and the National Commission for Women, through its programs was ensuring safety and empowerment of girls in every sphere, she said.
“Our government has been giving girls opportunities to demonstrate their leadership quality but there still is a need for the society to let go of its regressive mindset so that girls can come forward and be agents of change,” Sharma said.
Dhankar said that the government has been actively coming up with initiatives to drive change in society. “The change is now visible in the society; however, there is a need for a larger change. Our Prime Minister and the government have been dedicated to saving and promoting girl children which are now being reflected in the society,” said Dhankar.
Vats stressed the three Ps, Poverty, Patriarchy, and Perception that deprive women of their possibilities and potential. She said that it was important to make collective efforts through cooperation and collaboration across the board so as to achieve empowerment and development of girls.
The National Girl Child Day, started in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is celebrated on 24 January every year with an objective to provide support and opportunities to girls of India. It aims towards promoting awareness about the rights of the girl child, to increase awareness on the importance of girl education, their health, and nutrition.