2. 24th January is celebrated as National
Girl Child Day.
In 2008, it was initiated by the Ministry of
Women and Child Development to
spread public awareness about inequities
that girls face in Indian society.
The Government of India has not
officially announced any theme for
National Girl Child Day 2023. However,
unofficial sources stated that this year's
celebration will be around the slogan,
"Digital Generation, Our Generation, Our
Time is Now—Our Rights, Our Future."
Objective:
It is commemorated to promote public
awareness of the inequality, prejudice,
and exploitation that girls suffer in
society.
Its goal is to raise awareness about a
girl's rights and provide her with equal
possibilities as everyone else, as well as
3. Violence against women and girls:
to support the nation's female children
and eliminate gender biases.
The UN General Assembly defines
violence against women as “any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or
is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or in
private life.”
In general terms, it displays itself in
physical, sexual and psychological
forms, encompassing:
Partner violence (battering,
psychological abuse, marital rape,
femicide).
Sexual violence and harassment (rape,
forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual
advances, child sexual abuse, forced
4. Challenges in addressing women's Safety:
marriage, street harassment, stalking,
cyber-harassment).
Human trafficking (slavery, sexual
exploitation).
Female genital mutilation.
Child marriage.
Lack of Reporting.
Slow Criminal Justice System.
Inadequate Implementation of the law.
Poor Gender Sensitization of law
enforcement agencies like Police,
Judiciary etc.
Various Social factors like level of
education/illiteracy, Poverty, Social
Customs and values, religious beliefs,
and mindset of the Society.
Exclusion by Technology.
The lack of infrastructure Such as Safe
Spaces for women, Safe transport
5. Steps taken by the Government:
Systems, and Proper toilets makes it a
dangerous place for women and girls.
Hostile Environment of investigation for
victims of sexual violence.
Social Conceptions of Shame and victim-
blaming.
Much Sexual violence happens within a
marriage, and marital rape is not a Crime.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, to address the
declining Child Sex Ratio.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls aims at girls
in the age group 11-18, to empower and
improve their social status through
nutrition, life skills, home skills and
vocational training.
Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra
scheme, to promote community
participation through the involvement of
Student Volunteers for the
empowerment of rural women.
6. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) to provide
micro-credit to poor women for various
livelihood support and income-
generating activities at concessional
terms.
Swadhar Greh provides relief and
rehabilitation to destitute women and
women in distress.
Ujjawala is a Comprehensive Scheme for
the prevention of trafficking and rescue,
rehabilitation, reintegration and
repatriation of victims of trafficking for
commercial sexual exploitation.
Working Women Hostels for ensuring
safe accommodation for women working
away from their place of residence.
One-Stop Center and Women Helpline
are being implemented to facilitate
access to an integrated range of services
including medical aid, police assistance,
legal aid/ case management,
psychosocial counselling and temporary
7. support services to women affected by
violence.
Panic Button on Mobile Phones,
Emergency Response Support System
Set up under Nirbhaya Fund.
Inclusion of Acid Attack as a disability.
The dowry Prohibition Act, of 1961,
Penalizes Giving & taking.
SABLA Scheme, Providing life Skills and
Supplementary nutrition to School girls -
Working Women Hostel.
Sexual Harassment electronic-Box (SHe-
Box).
The national database on Sexual
offenders includes names, addresses,
photographs and fingerprint details of
those Convicted in Sexual assault Cases.
The Hindu Succession Amendment Act
2005. According to the law, sons,
daughters and their mothers can get an
equal share of family property.
8. Steps needed to ensure women's Safety:
The Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act 2005 extends the
understanding of the term ‘domestic’ to
include all women who ‘live or have lived
together in a shared household’ with the
male member who is perpetrating the
violence.
Domestic violence refers to the injury or
harm or threat of injury or harm caused
by an adult male, usually the husband,
against his wife. Injury may be caused by
physically beating up the woman or by
emotionally abusing her. Abuse of the
woman can also include verbal, sexual
and economic abuse.
Strengthening Criminal Justice
machinery
Strict implementation and monitoring of
the laws and Schemes and Strengthened
enforcement.
9. Strengthening of Alternate Dispute
resolution mechanisms like Lok Adalat.
Provide Self-defense Training
Gender Sensitization of the law
enforcement agencies, especially Police
and Judiciary.
Adopting zero tolerance Policy, Moral
education through awareness and
education.
Promoting Social and economic
empowerment of women through Policies
and Programmes.
Economic empowerment of women
through Property rights, Create
awareness about their Rights.
Ensuring gender-friendly Public Spaces
Equal access to Nutrition, Health, and
education
Adopt a life cycle approach to the
empowerment of girls and women.
Gender equality and violence Prevention
Programmes can be introduced in
10. Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC)
Obscenity
Schools and Colleges.
Strictly regulate the Sale and distribution
of acid.
Marital rape Should be made an offence
irrespective of the age of the wife
Khap panchayat’s decisions, and all those
involved in them, that led to honour
killings or violent Crimes must be
Criminally Punished.
Increase the representation of women in
the Judiciary, both at higher and lower
levels.
All Police Stations must have women and
a Child Protection des
The number of women in Police Should
be increased
Installation of CCTV, Mapping of dark
Spots & Crime-prone areas
11. Dowry Death
Acid Attack
Outraging the modesty of a women
Sections 292, 293 & 294, Indian Penal
Code, 1860
Section 67 of the Information Technology
Act
Indecent representation of women
(prohibition) Act, 1987.
Sections 304-B, Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 2, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
Section 174, Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973
Section 113-A, Evidence act, 1872.
Section 326-A and 326-B, Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (amendment 2013)
Section 357-B and 357-C, Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Sections 354, 354A, 354B, 354C, 354D,
Indian Penal Code, 1860.
12. Rape and Sexual Assault
Cruelty
Domestic Violence.
Summary:
Section 509 Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Section 375, 376, 376-A-D Indian Penal
Code, 1860.
Section 498 - A Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Protection of women from Domestic
Violence Act, 2005
Sections 12-29, Protection of women
from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Violence affects women at all stages of
their life, gender-based violence can
happen to anyone, anywhere, some
women and girls are particularly
vulnerable; young girls and older women,
women who identify as lesbian, bisexual,
transgender or intersex, migrants and
refugees, indigenous women and ethnic
13. HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL DAY OF THE
GIRL CHILD
1. Actively participate in the theme
National Day of the Girl Child has had a
specified theme each year ever since its
first observance. Find out what the theme
for the year is and participate actively in it
by launching campaigns on social media
using the hashtag #BrighterFutureForGirls.
2. Make the girls around you feel special!
minorities, or women and girls living with
HIV and disabilities, and those living
through humanitarian crises.
Violence against women continues to be
an obstacle to achieving equality,
development, and peace as well as the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
14. Why make girls around us feel special only
on their birthdays or a special date?
Appreciate your adolescent daughter,
sister, or any other young lady in your life
by giving them a token of your
appreciation and by empowering them in
any way you can think of.
3. Participate in a girls' empowerment
campaign
Strong, disciplined men need to nurture
these girls who will soon transition into
womanhood. So go ahead, and join your
girls in their campaigns to spread
awareness on gender-based inequality and
violence.
15. 4. Teach them
Types of Violence against women and girls
5. Empower them with
Steps taken by the Government
6. Give them awareness about
Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC). Invite some noted women
lawyers or lawyers from alumni of your
school to give a detailed information.
7. Invite some women achievers or
celebrities in any field as a guest
8. Appreciate girls of your school for their
achievements
16. 9. Organise hand writing, drawing, hand
writing, signature contest
10. List out the women achievers from
your school
11. Conduct Pen brief - personal stories
writings
12. Conduct inspiring essay competitions
and poster making
13. Organise cultural program - Dance,
music....
14. Promote your school women achievers
to the world achievers.
15. Organise sexuality, mental health, yoga,
mass drill, health and hygiene, master
17. health checkup.... in association with local
hospitals.
13. Introduce best LIC Schemes for Girl
Child (In India, LIC offers a multitude of
schemes)
14. Help them to get Aadhar card,
community certificate, income certificate,
nativity certificate and saving account in
post office or in nationalised bank.
15. Ask them to make a draft of My Dream
and stick on notice board.
16. Display women achievers of India
17. Arrange a counseling session with good
counselor.
18. Teach them good and bad touches
19. Set up a Micro Bank Scheme for girls to
save money for their higher studies and
marriage.
18. 20. Introduce them small scale industries,
self employment opportunities.
21. Give them career opportunities in
higher education.
FACTS ABOUT THE LIFE OF GIRLS THAT
YOU DIDN’T KNOW
1. Little girls become brides at a young age
2. Around 33,000 girls are married off
every day around the world.
3. HIV is prevalent among girls
4. An estimated 340,000 girls and young
women are infected with the virus every
year and currently more than 3 million
girls and young women are living with
HIV all over the world.
5. Girls think husbands are entitled to beat
wives
6. Around 44% of the girls between 15 to
19 years of age think it’s okay for a
husband to beat his wife.
19. WHY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL
CHILD IS IMPORTANT
1. It empowers girls!
Amid the noise of Father’s Day, Mother’s
Day, and even Women’s Day, calling out for
the rights of little girls who are silently
oppressed around the world is an
outstanding step. It is on this day we get to
appreciate the lassies who lighten up our
7. They do more unpaid child labor than
boys
8. Girls between five to 14 spend more
than 28 hours doing labor, which is twice
the time spent by boys.
9. Girls are shamelessly trafficked for
sexual exploitation
10. 96% of human trafficked individuals
for sexual exploitation are girls and
women.
20. world. It should be known that an
educated and skilled woman is far more
effective in preventing infant mortality, is
proven to take care of the house more
sophisticatedly, and hence contribute
more to society than an uneducated,
unskilled, socially abused woman.
2. It works to eliminate deep-rooted
gender-based issues
Deeply entrenched issues and problematic
mindsets that have been passed on for
generations have made gender-based
discrimination and oppression
threateningly common in every household,
particularly in developing countries.
International Day of the Girl Child seeks to
21. eliminate the tragic predicaments of little
girls around the world.
3. Empowered girls grow up to be
empowered women
Adolescence is a critical point in every
person’s life. It determines the trajectory
of girls’ lives, which is why caring for girls
in their youth benefits all. If they are
empowered at a vulnerable age, they can
mature into liberated, wise women of the
future. As a society, we all win. All the
initiatives taken to nurture girls have been
a direct consequence of spreading
awareness in the society. Celebrating this
day internationally gives a platform to
those underprivileged girls to raise their
22. voice and demand equality of rights,
education, and health. It gives them a
forum to talk about the violence they are
subjected to, and voice their pleas to end
this cruelty. Our efforts in raising their
voice will help them grow and be free of
this inequality.
Send us a report with photos at +91
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In return you receive certificate of
appreciation from United Nations
headquarters.
Team: The National UN Volunteers-India
