Tejaswini Project in Jharkhand commemorates National Girl Child Day

The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India every year on January 24. It is an initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India to raise awareness about the prevalent gender inequalities in the country and to empower girls across the country to achieve their dreams.

Jharkhand is one of the Indian states where girls everyday face acute gender-based challenges. According a recent report, 4% of girls aged 15-21 in the state are married before the age of 15, and one third (33%) of those aged 18-21 are married before the age of 18.

In order to highlight these prevalent issues and to spread awareness about the importance girl in the society, the HPPI project team in Jharkhand, implementing the Tejaswini project, commemorated the National Girl Child Day on January 24.

Tejaswini Clubs, formed under the project and comprising of young girls across the all the districts of  the state, organised various events on the day, planned and executed by its members.

In Tundi block of Dhanbad, MLA, Mr. Mathura Prasad Mahato participated in the inauguration and prize distribution ceremony of a football tournament organised on the day. The event also helped raise awareness about issues such as deteriorating sex ratio, female foeticide, gender biases domestic violence and retrograde social practices such as the dowry system.

Across the project locations, the events helped raise awareness about health and nutrition among the girl child, their rights and opportunities for their socio-economic development.

HPPI entered into partnership with Jharkhand Women Development Society in mid-2019, as a Community Service Provider (CSP) in two zones of Jharkhand State (Zone 2 and Zone 4) with three districts in each zone. Zone 2 include the districts of Khunti, Latehar and Lohardaga while Zone 4 include the districts of Bokaro, Dhanbad and Jamtara.