Know About These Girl Child Activists of India

Know About These Girl Child Activists of India

NGO for girl educationThis World Girl Child Day, we made a promise to ourselves to fulfill a vision by 2030 that covers the United Nation’s theme of The Power of the Adolescent Girl. The aim is to raise awareness about the rights of adolescent girls to live in an educated, safe and healthy environment as they witness a transition from a critical formative age into mature women.

If we narrow down their case in India, people have been actively raising voices to educate girls. It all started with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) launched by the government to provide free and compulsory education to the children falling under the age group of 6 to 14. Since that time, the SSA rolled out many schemes to encourage female education.

The major ones include Mahila Samakhya Programme to empower rural women, especially belonging to the economically and socially marginalised groups. Another attempt was Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme (KGBV) to impart primary level education to girls mainly living in rural and underprivileged areas where female literacy level is quite low.

One more initiative that needs a special mention is National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) that introduced model schools set up for expanding its outreach amongst girls. Keeping to these efforts by the SSA, several activists came forward to work hand-in-hand with the government for the cause of a girl child. We’ve enlisted some of the prominent activists who have worked on the cause diligently and made a big difference in the society.

 Sunitha Krishnan – Prajwala

She is a social worker and the co-founder of a non-governmental organisation named Prajwala that rescues and works for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims of sex-trafficking through media, legal and political advocacy. Sunitha was precocious as a child who displayed her passion for welfare activities much before. Even becoming a rape victim herself at a mere age of 15 did not deter her from getting involved into working for the society. The incident probably acted as an impetus in making her what she is today.

She believes in prevention through education that makes her work to bring about a change in the lives of the children of the sex workers so that they do not fall prey to the flesh trade. She wants to prevent inter-generational prostitution through the hope of education. Today, the organisation runs seven transition centres to help these vulnerable children join the mainstream.

 Anand Mahindra – Nanhi Kali

He is the managing director and chairman of Mahindra Group. As a staunch supporter of girl child education since 1996, Anand Mahindra founded Nanhi Kali, a project that sponsors underprivileged girls and offers scholarship to them. Under his corporate social responsibility, he vouches for 10 years of standard education to the girls who are economically disadvantaged. An NGO for girl child, Nanhi Kali has 19 partners in implementation till date to ensure material and academic support for girls.

 Safeena Husain – Educate Girls

The 3 million out-of-school girls in India bothered her. Therefore, Safeena completed her education at London School of Economics to empower the village communities in order to improve the status of girl education. She founded Educate Girls, an NGO for girl education which was established in 2007 to deal with the main reason behind gender inequality.

Apart from these, a special mention can be given to Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), a special school for the physically and mentally challenged. Set up by The Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF), the institution also acts as an NGO for child education to empower the children with special abilities to lead an independent life.

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