Valuing the girl child.

The International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every year on October 11. The UN General Assembly adopted resolution 66/170 on 19 December 2011, to declare October 11 the International Day of the Girl Child.

The idea behind this step was to direct the world's attention towards the challenges a girl child faces and to address them. Although it has helped in directing the world's attention towards the issues of a girl child, a lot of work still needs to be done.

To start with, very few girls know that their day exists and is celebrated globally. Very few schools, colleges, and higher education institutes celebrate this day. Even fewer people know that there exists a day for a girl child. So, how can it yield good results in the favor of the girl child?

Along with the theoretical framework for the empowerment of the girl child, a multidimensional practical approach is needed to address the issue. Family, society, institutions, and the state all should play a part by collaborating to resolve the issue.

The basic and most important role in this regard is of the family. Parents have to play the most vital role. It is a family which nurtures a girl child and prepares her for the outside world. Parents need to adopt multidimensional strategies to empower their girl child by removing the obstacles in her journey.

In a society where a girl child suffers in most cases because of ingrained prejudices, the weak status of women, deprivation of basic human rights, and gender discrimination, a family can be the most important tool to empower a girl child. It is a family that can determine and create a bright future for a girl child.

Parents should make a girl child and others realize that her rights cannot be snatched. No one has the right to snatch her rights. She should be given rights with dignity and respect. It leads to a better future. This realization will help in making life easier for a girl child when she grows up. And, she will not be at the receiving end.

However, it cannot do it all alone. It needs to be backed by the state with adequate health, education, and economic opportunities, better laws for the protection of the girl child, and progressive policies for uplifting the status of women in society. It is a state that needs to make parents aware of their obligations concerning a girl child and realize their role. It will result in a better future for the country as investing in a girl child today will lead to a better future tomorrow.

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