The Forum for Child Rights, Krishna district, on Wednesday organised a rally on the theme ‘Save the Girl Child — My Life My Rights’, in association with several other local organisations to promote girl child rights and to highlight gender inequality that was at the root of the problem of all issues related to the fair sex.
A large number of girls drawn from nearly 10 different institutes such as homes for girls run by the Share and Care Charitable Trust, Government Children’s Home, Montessori School, Stella College, Vijaya School of Nursing, Mother Teresa School of Nursing, St. Anthony’s in One Town and Loyola College, besides representatives of NGOs, participated in the rally, which commenced at Raghavaiah Park and concluded at the busy Lenin Centre.
Students from University College of Dublin Volunteers’ Overseas (UCDVO) actively took part in the event.
The participants held placards that displayed thought-provoking slogans such as ‘Give the Girls a Voice, Respect Girls and Women as if They Were Your Mother and Sister, My Life My Right, Educate the Girl Child, One Life: Let Her Live It and Education is Power’.
The objective was to raise public awareness on the growing discrimination and abuse that many girls suffer from. Bringing to the fore the importance of a girl’s right to equal education and her fundamental freedom, the participants attracted the public attention almost everywhere they went.
At Lenin Centre, addressing the gathering, National Child Labour Project Director Anjaneya Reddy highlighted the banes of young girls being employed as domestic help.
Speaking about other issues like girl trafficking and sexual abuse, he said even in schools, many girls were forced to drop out, especially in rural pockets, due to absence of basic amenities and proper toilet facility.
ICDS-I officer Manoranjani, members of Forum for Child Rights, Child Welfare Committee, and others participated.
This story has been corrected
