January 24: National Girl Child Day

India celebrates National Girl Child Day on January 24 annually. It was initiated by Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008.

Highlights

The aim of the day is to spread awareness about inequalities faced by girls in the country. It also promotes awareness about rights of girl child. Also, it increases importance of health, education and nutrition of girl child.  The National Girl Child Day also spreads various atrocities faced by girls in their lives. The international day of girl child is celebrated on October 11 every year.

Need

Girls in India face humiliation, discrimination and oppression. According to CRY (Child Rights and You) India is the home of more than one-third child brides in the world. There are more than 10 million child brides in the world, They are forced into marriage before the legal age of 18

Sex Ratio

Sex Ratio is the ratio of male to female population. Sex ratio of the entire world is 101 males to 100 females (2018 estimate). In India according to the Census 2011, the sex ration was 108.9. It has been increasing since 1961. It was 102.4 in 1961, 104.2 in 1980 and 107.5 in 2001.

The natural sex ratio for a society should be between 103 and 107. However, in India it is higher in western and north western states such as Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir. The eastern and southern states have normal sex ratio.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2020