At this run, Gurgaon girl becomes Canadian high commissioner for a day

Celebrations for the

International Day of the Girl Child

, which is on October 11, began early in the city since the 11th is the Dussehra holiday. The Canadian and other diplomatic missions organised a marathon –

Run for Her

– where Bollywood and Punjabi beats welcomed hundreds of students and diplomats. There was also Medha Mishra, a Gurgaon girl, who was the

Canadian high commissioner

for a day. They assembled at the gate of the Canada High Commission to participate in the 2.5km run. The afternoon heat did not deter the spirit of the participants, who came from different parts of the capital for the event. The deputy high commissioner of Canada, Jess Dutton, said, "The idea for us was to just take an opportunity to generate some awareness on a really important global issue. We’ve been planning this for a long time and this came up while we were thinking what we could do to generate awareness as well as excitement about the day. We are proud that we were able to partner with 20-30 countries to support us for the run. We even have school and university students running here."


Canada’s High Commissioner for a day
Spearheading the run along with Jess was the engineering student who was Canada’s high commissioner for a day. Medha Mishra, who is from Gurgaon and studies in Jaipur, came here to take charge of her duties as the high commissioner for a day from the Pink City. Medha was chosen through a video competition on the theme ‘why girls’ rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality’. The competition was conducted by the Canadian High Commission as part of activities to mark the International Day of the Girl Child. "It’s quite fun. I got to attend an actual meeting today and that was pretty cool. I think officials here have been told to create problems so that I would have the experience of being the high commissioner and solve those problems. It’s a very tough job and I am really fortunate that I just have to do it for a day, because if I did it for any longer, I would probably lose my head," said Medha. She added, "I am from Gurgaon and doing my engineering from Jaipur. I am really happy to get this opportunity. I didn’t expect that it would turn out this well."

Pets and babies as participants too!

Pooches and kids

were also part of the marathon, and some like Ballu were quite a distraction. Runners kept stopping to say ‘hi’ to them or cuddle them, but some did act pricey and turned their faces away! Caroline, who came with her pet Laila, told us, “I asked if pets were allowed here and they joked that if it’s a girl, then they are most welcome. I told them I have a girl.” Laila too dressed up in a white tee like other contestants to be part of the run. The other two were Vicky and Pasha. “Pasha is a girl and Vicky is just here to support and cheer for her,” said Jillian.