Celebs share views on International Day of the Girl Child 

Celebrities have emphasised on the importance of girl child on the occasion of International Day of Girl Child, which falls on October 11.

Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein actress Ragini Nandwani thinks educating a girl is very important rather than talking about Prince Charming. “Educating them will enable them to make informed choices from a better range of options in life. An educated girl builds a better future for the family leading to a better economy and healthy family,” she said.

According to Music composer Nilesh Ahuja, all the girls should have the right to become independent and choose the path to their success. “Girls should be taught all sorts of academics, sports, culture and music to get an idea of everything around them and to become more social. Teaching them at an early stage will definitely help them to grow and become the decision maker of their own life sooner. Parents should encourage their daughters to be independent and build their career in whichever stream they are interested in and they should write their own stories and make history,” he said.

“The Indian government has taken several steps over the years to change this and improve the conditions of girls. I have even personally worked on a campaign on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao so I can totally relate to it,” he added.

Designer Anjali Phougat thinks girls have the potential to move themselves and their families into a healthier and more secure life. “I believe that investing in the empowerment of adolescent girls means supporting the most powerful force for change on the planet. When a girl is protected and empowered, her family and community thrive. When a girl’s family and community thrive, the world is changed,” she said. “Teaching girls to be independent can help them to make informed choices – and from a far better range of options. Building more stable communities, strengthens economies and advances the fight to end poverty. Teaching girls to be independent at a young age has benefits not just for themselves but also for their communities and countries. With a quality education, girls can make informed choices, improving their country’s social and economic well-being. In fact, there is a lot of evidence that countries with less gender disparity in schools are more likely to have higher economic growth. Some countries lose more than $1 billion a year by failing to educate girls at the same level as boys! Educated women are more likely to invest in the next generation. Educated women understand the value of schooling and place a high priority on providing education and better health care to their children. UNICEF reports that girls’ education literally saves millions of lives,” she added.

Bollywood Diaries actor Salim Diwan shared that International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated to empower girls and amplify their voices which is very much necessary. “We should raise awareness of issues faced by girls internationally, like education, nutrition, forced child marriage, legal rights, and medical rights. And I feel parents should teach their girls from childhood about their rights and they should become a friend of a child to make them more comfortable because with friends we can share our feelings and get a motivation to face any problems. Earlier, most of the parents used to teach girls about their Prince Charming, marriage, good and easy life, all good good things but the reality is somewhere different. Now parents should tell their girls about today’s world, actual problems that they can face and should show them an actual mirror of the world so that they can become independent and strong,” she said

Producer Nivedita Basu thinks that nowadays, no one really differentiates between a girl child or boy child. “I don’t know anyone who teaches girls about marriage and knights in shining armors. I think everyone wants good education, good health and good thoughts for their child irrespective of their gender. I think writing by itself is a good habit. So if they read and write, I think that is our basic job done. Today because of the techno, digital age, children have gotten so addicted to the device. I don’t think anyone physically writes. I’ll actually be the happiest person if my daughter gets into the habit of writing at an early age. So I’m going to inculcate it but unfortunately due to the pandemic of not having school and everything, being on the digital mode is getting a little tougher.

Kawach 2 actress Pranitaa Pandit thinks that since we’re born, it is very important for a girl to be taught that she is enough and she is who she is.

“Eventually what happens as soon as we grow up… people, especially girls, always hear, ‘oh my God, you’re so pretty, you’re so beautiful, you’re so sweet.’ These are the words that we seeded into our girl child. And that is a very natural thing, that is part of our conditioning. But when it comes to boys, we say other things, that you’re strong and stuff like that. I feel that it’s very important to tell them these words and seed them in their mind instead of saying they’re supposed to be pretty and beautiful. It should be more value centric. There’s a ritual that I follow with my daughter, I always tell her every single day that she is powerful, she’s fearless, she’s strong, she’s everything that she needs to be. Actually use words like she can do anything and everything. She can do it on her own. She is always protected, blessed, and powerful. This is how I was brought up and that’s why I’m who I’m today. I’m strong headed in my own ways and at the same time have different multiple roles that I play, mother, daughter, daughter-in-law. But at the same time, I’m Pranitaa and that’s my identity. I want to bring her up with that identity that she is going to be Isha Pandit and that’s about it. She’s gonna live her own life on her own terms and conditions. Of course, listen to people’s advice but follow her instinct. I just want to inculcate good values in her,” she said.