NEW DELHI: The
women and child development ministry
celebrated the
National Girl Child Day
on Tuesday by conducting a special event to mark the
exemplary achievements of girls
across the country last year.
The National Plan of Action for Children 2016 was also released at the function, attended by women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi and minister of state Krishna Raj. Maneka spoke about the achievements of the
Beti Bachao
, Beti Padhao scheme. “Parents should be supportive...girls have a lot of potential. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is doing really well in spreading awareness among people”.
Special addresses were given by eminent speakers, including Avni Chaturvedi from the first batch of female fighter pilots; Arunima Sinha, the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest; Deepa Malik, a silver medallist at Rio Paralympics 2016; and Shanno, an adviser to Balaknama newspaper, which is run by street children.
“I lost one of my legs in a train accident but never gave up. Disability is in the brain,” said Sinha. Malik, Silver medallist at Rio Paralympics 2016 said “I come from a place which has a very low sex ratio. It is difficult to achieve success but if you never give up, it will come to you on its own”.
Under the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, 10 districts were felicitated for setting examples. Winners of the regional-level quiz competitions organised for girl students across various Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in Delhi were also awarded. Troupes from Song and Drama Division of the ministry of information and broadcasting carried out various regional performances on the occasion.