Yesterday I got to know that October 11 is celebrated as the ‘International Day of the Girl Child’ every year. Each year Day of the Girl has a theme and this year the theme is ‘The Power of the Adolescent Girl’: Vision for 2030. My daughter is 8 years and thus the theme for this year holds a special significance for me.
History of The International Day Of The Girl Child:
International Day of the Girl Child was observed first on October 2012. On December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly voted to pass a resolution and adopted October 11, 2012 as the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child. (Source: Wikipedia)
The significance of International Day Of The Girl Child:
United Nations aims to raise awareness of issues facing girls internationally surrounding education, nutrition, child marriage, legal and medical rights by observing October 11 as the ‘Day of the Girl’.
The significance of the day for me:
I am a proud mother of a girl child. Thus this day holds special meaning for me. My daughter is 8 years and approaching the adolescent age soon so this year’s theme holds special importance for me. In the year 2030, she will be in her early 20’s. This is the time she will be charting her future. My only wish for her is that she is confident enough to make her own decisions. As parents we are always there to guide her, support her in her endeavours but I will strive daily to empower her to be independent and a responsible decision maker.
I want my daughter to be strong mentally and physically. Mentally strong for me doesn’t mean that she can’t express her negative but natural emotions rather precisely it means that she can. She is empowered enough, confident enough to share her joys and sorrows, likes and dislikes, achievements and failures without the fear of being judged. I also want her to be physically strong so she feels secure and doesn’t need to depend on a man for her physical well being.
One very essential quality I have always tried to imbibe in her is to make her a compassionate person. We want our children to be ambitious, independent but a being better person surpasses all these qualities. I want her to grow up to be an ambitious independent person but most importantly I want her to be a happy person who is always ready to understand the needs of others.
I do not have expectations from her rather I want to empower her to set goals for herself and live up to those expectations.
Every person faces rejection and failures in their life. I want my daughter to face failures which will make her a strong-willed person who aims to keep learning from mistakes and strive hard to be successful always.
Like all mothers, I have many wishes for my daughter but the few that are close to my heart are: 10 Wishes I have for my daughter
How can we do our small bit for girls of our country?
Daily we read disturbing news about girl foetus being wrongfully aborted, cases of sexual harassment, eve teasing, rapes, child marriages, domestic violence. This has to end. It is very disturbing and disheartening to read this daily. It scares me as a mother of a girl child. But worrying about it, showing concern and just forgetting about it after a few days is not the solution. Thinking it didn’t happen to me or it will not happen to me is not the right approach. We as parents have to empower our girls and we as responsible citizens have to create awareness among others.
One small effort that we can do is say no to child labour. In India particularly we see young girls work as house help. We need to think beyond our comfort, we need to guide them to educate themselves, create awareness to develop some skill which will make them self-reliant financially in the future. This very small step by each one of us can help make a big change.
Today on ‘International Day Of The Girl Child’ I pledge myself to create awareness among parents around me to empower our girls so by the year 2030 we see a different India. Please join me by doing your bit.
Thank you for writing this , we need to ensure our girl children are safe, educated and independent.
Absolutely! And this feeling should go beyond one person and one day! I love your articulation 🙂
Not just child labour, we read such distressing news reports of harassment in the news. I think times has come for boys to be educated as well on women’s safety.
I am also the only child of my parents but never have they made me feel that being a girl I have any limitations. They have taught me to be emotionally and physically strong and I am glad to your post as it so resonates with all the teachings my parents have given me. Kudos!
My heart goes out to girls working as house help but at the same time I have seen some very strong girls who go to school and work and are financially independent. which is Need of the hour.
This post contains a strong message which I stand by. Our children need to be educated better in terms of dependable awareness and moral compass. That will make for a better tomorrow.