‘One girl, one book, one pen can change the world’

Each year on October 11, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) celebrates International Day of the Girl Child to reaffirm its pledge to promote the progress of girls and safeguard their fundamental rights.

The day is marked to empower and amplify the voices of young girls across the world. In this spirit, Apeejay School, Noida also organised a programme with an aim of celebrating and spreading awareness on the importance of girl education, their health and hygiene. The school also emphasised on the need to promote gender equality.

On this day, an eminent professional, Dr Priyanka Chaudhary, was invited to the school. Addressing the students, she shared about her educational and professional journey. She also pledged to assist more young girls and help them grow into empowered women who can access to proper healthcare, skill-based learning facilities and equal opportunities in a world free from gender-based violence and discrimination.

The school programme also provided an insight into the adolescent girls of classes 5 to 7 with a session on menstrual health and hygiene. Dr Chaudhary further helped girl students build the skills to overcome obstacles about their health, freedom and development. She informed them that they have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life.

The school’s Principal, Mr. AK Sharma, Vice-Principal, Mrs. Amrita Hajela and Primary In-charge, Mrs. Smriti Samuel addressed the students. In their speeches, they highlighted that a girl child is a pride and part of the nation’s future, and empowering them would mean empowering the nation. “Every girl child is empowered from within. We need to realise and appreciate their potential and augment their sense of self-worth,” added the Principal.

At the closing of the event, Mrs. Samuel reiterated the importance of accepting one’s body and embracing the changes that girls face during their shift from childhood to adolescence. Her words provided an opportunity to the students to become sensitised and stay informed.