The National Girl Child Day was celebrated in Mysuru on Thursday, and authorities highlighted the importance of education for girls and securing their legal rights.
The event was organised by the district administration, Mysuru Zilla Panchayat, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), the Department of Women and Child Development, the Police, and the District Child Protection Unit.
Usha Rani, Principal District and Sessions Judge and Chairperson of the DLSA, inaugurated the programme and said the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, launched by the Union government, is aimed at addressing issues related to gender equality and supported by various laws to protect and empower girls.
This includes the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, law against human trafficking, etc. all of which indicate that the girls are vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation, and abuse.
Ms. Rani said girls who are deprived of education are forced to work in places where they are more vulnerable to exploitation and educating them could reduce such incidents.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s guidelines for preventing violence against girls based on the Society for Enlightenment vs. Union of India case, Ms. Rani said the apex court has stipulated that district child marriage prohibition officers be appointed in the States. It also vested the responsibility of preventing child marriages to district collectors, deputy commissioners, and senior police officers.
K.M. Gayatri, CEO of Mysuru Zilla Panchayat, said there was a reduction in the exploitation of girls in certain areas but the concern is that it has increased in a few other areas.
Calling for empowering women and girl children, Ms. Gayatri said that encouraging them to pursue education will help infuse confidence in them and reduce exploitation cases. In this context, she said it was equally important to create awareness among boys of girls’ rights and respect them. This initiative should start at an early age, she said.
Children should also be made aware of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate contact so that they can be wary of it, and this could help in reducing cases of abuse, she added.
B.G. Dinesh, Senior Civil Judge and member secretary of the DLSA, suggested that schools should have counsellors. In addition, every girl should be made aware of the laws protecting them, and every department must take responsibility for it and work in coordination to protect girl children, he added.
Additional Police Superintendent Nagesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Muthuraj, Deputy Director of Women and Child Development Department Basavaraju, and others were present.
