The National Girl Child Day, celebrated every year on 24th January, serves as a reminder to us all that it is our collective responsibility to ensure that our girls get the importance, respect   and happiness they deserve. It has been said that we cannot change what we are not aware of and once we are aware, we cannot help but change. Always avant garde in their approach, St. Joseph’s Sr. Sec. School, Sector 44-D, Chandigarh made the most of the golden opportunity that came its way, to host the Webinar organised by the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights to memorialize the Girl Child Day.

Under the aegis of the Girls India Project, around 45 schools further divided into 5 groups, named after the dynamic women who have set benchmarks in their respective fields, participated in the webinar. The event was graced by distinguished dignitaries, closely associated with the upliftment and furtherance of the Rights of the Girl Child, such as Ms. Harjinder Kaur, Chairperson CCPCR, the Chief Guest Ms. Pam Rajput, Professor Emeritus-Founder Director Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, Ms. Nina Singh- Ex- President Rotary Club, Trustee and Chief Functionary Bharat Prakash Foundation and Ms. Vandana Aggarwal – Coordinator Helping Hands Chandigarh.

The quintessence of an empowered woman who has always been a proponent of girls/ women’s rights- Principal Ms. Monica Chawla, expounded on the foundation of the Girls India Project tracing its journey from its flight as a fledgling to now proudly soaring in the sky. The gathering was then addressed by Ms. Harjinder Kaur who has constantly sought to edify the system and bring about a welcome transition in the mind set of society. Citing Guru Nanak Devji’s teachings, her words encouraged girls to march ahead with the torch bearers who have already trudged the tough road and gained success in their chosen professions.

The eminently sagacious, Ms. Pam Rajput, also shared some pearls of wisdom, entreating everyone to do away with stereotypes, saying it is high time that we look beyond the four walls of our institutions to actually reach the deprived and unwanted girls that society has so cruelly abandoned. She emphasised that it was not only necessary to empower girls but also to empower our boys to accept this empowerment. Girl Child Day, according to her, is a day  to reflect upon how far we have come in our attempt to empower our girls and how much further we need to go.

Ms. Neena Singh congratulated the team work of all the institutions for working in tandem to create awareness of Girls Rights. She beseeched girls to never be afraid to raise their voice and arm themselves against any injustice, with the most powerful tool i.e. education. She highlighted the necessary life skills, accentuating IT Skills and Vocational Training as the need of the hour.

Ms. Vandana Aggarwal created an incredible aura of enthusiasm with the stories of our exemplary Indian women achievers and raised the josh of the audience with her incredible oratory skills.

Thereafter, each GIP group namely Mai Bhago Group, Kalpana Chawla Group, Mary Kom Group, Mother Teresa Group and Arunima Sinha Group- took turns to present their PPTs which encompassed all the spade work done to work together for the upliftment of the girls in their particular hub.

The webinar concluded with the Vote of Thanks by Ms. Pooja Punchhi, Member of CCPCR. It was indeed an enlightening session that would facilitate the process of making the world a better place to live where every girl and every boy share equal privileges.