Girls in India still face issues like being considered a burden, lack of access to education and nutrition, and early marriage and pregnancy. Educating girls is the best way to empower them and achieve gender equality, as it gives them skills and confidence. It can also help address issues like malnutrition, early pregnancy, and infant mortality. Several government schemes and NGOs are working to improve girls' education, nutrition, and welfare in India, but more still needs to be done to make India a better place for girls and change its reputation as the worst country for girls.

1. The Akshaya Patra Foundation © 2016 Page 1
Make India a Better
Place for Girls

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Girls are as important as boys. But many of us are yet to completely accept the
fact and in several parts of India, girls are still considered as a burden to the
family and treated inferior to boys. Moreover, they are denied some basic rights
of children like education, freedom and nutrition. Changing this picture is the
main aim behind observing the National Girl Child Day on January 24 every year
in India.
Compared to the past, the situation has improved significantly. However, we still
have a long way to go to make our nation a better place for girls. There is no
doubt that we will reach our destination one day. But to achieve this faster, we
have to take care of several elements mainly education for girls.
This is because education is best way to empower girl children or achieve
gender equality. An educated girl is not only an asset to her family but to the
whole community. Education gives girls the confidence and skills to work,
manage and run a family and help in the betterment of the society.

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Interestingly, educating a girl can help avoid some issues our society is
currently facing including early pregnancy, malnutrition and infant mortality.
Also investing in a girl’s education can bring more returns than that of a boy.
Research shows that an extra year in schooling leads to 15 percent increase in a
woman’s future earnings compared to the 11 percent in men.
Undernutrition is another issue which affects girl children in India. Shockingly,
about 47% of teenage girls in the nation are underweight. An undernourished
girl child will grow up as an undernourished mother and will give birth to stunted
children.
Similarly, child marriage and early pregnancy are the other two issues which
haunt Indian girls today. Millions of girls are still married off before 18 and
become mothers at an early age.

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In an effort to solve these issues and to highlight the importance of education for
girls, the Indian Government has introduced several schemes. ‘Betibachao,
betipadhao,’ ‘SukanyaSamriddhiYojana (SSY), ‘Nutrition programme for
adolescent girls,’ ‘The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent
Girls (RGSEAG) – Sabla’ and the ‘National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for
Secondary Education’ are some of them.
Also some NGOs have come forward to help girls. The Akshaya Patra
Foundation is one of them. The NGO’s Mid-Day Meal Programme has helped
improve girls’ education, helped bring them back to school and boost the
nutritional status of girl students.
Educate Girls, Nanhi Kali, Rasta, Save a Girl Child, Plan India are some of the
other charities who work for gender equality, girl’s education and welfare of girl
children in India.
Despite all these efforts, India is still considered the worst country in the world
for girls. On this Girl Child Day, let us change this image -join hands, fight these
issues together and provide education for girls, so that India will become a
dream land for girls across the whole world.
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