Narendra Modi urges India to ensure girls get all opportunities to shine
India too has been observing the day through various programmes.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "The girl child has left a mark in every area, from studies to sports. Saluting their accomplishments on International Day of the Girl Child. We should collectively work towards an India where there is no discrimination based on gender & where girls get all opportunities to shine."
Tweeted Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, "On International Day of the Girl Child,lets dedicate us to cause of #BetiBachaoBetiPadhao. @narendramodi gave clarion call,v must follow."
"On the International Day of the Girl Child, my best wishes to all our Kanyashree girls. Girls are our assets. They are our future," tweeted Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.
The theme for this year's International Day of the Girl is Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls.
On Monday, around 120 teenage girls from marginalised communities stepped into the role of traffic police in New Delhi for two hours at multiple locations, namely Rajpath, Mandi House, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Windsor Circle.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his message, said:
"The wellbeing, human rights and empowerment of the world’s 1.1 billion girls are central to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. When we agreed on that agenda, we promised girls quality education and health services.
We are committed to ending discrimination and violence against girls, and harmful practices like child marriage. We pledged to leave no one behind.
Too often, in villages, shanty towns and refugee camps around the world, girls are the ones left behind: without nutritious food, healthcare or quality education, and at risk of sexual violence.
Investing in girls is both the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do. It has a powerful ripple effect across all areas of development, and reaches forward to future generations.
But what cannot be measured cannot be managed. If we do not gather the data we need, we will never know if we are delivering on our promises.
We need to make sure that our initiatives are reaching all girls: girls in extreme poverty; girls in isolated rural areas; girls living with disabilities; girls in indigenous communities; girls who are refugees or displaced within their own countries.
Timely, high-quality data is vital so that we know where we are meeting our promises, and where we are falling behind.
Let us all work hard to make sure we count all girls, because all girls count."
Image: United Nations Twitter
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