Bhilwara Sangam University National Girl Child Day - Everest Conqueror Anshu Jamsenpa Shares Thoughts

Online, January 28, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Gender equality is indeed more than a goal in itself as it is a precondition for meeting the challenges of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.

To quote UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon "Investing in girls is a moral imperative - a matter of basic justice and equality. It is an obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It is also critical for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, advancing economic growth and building peaceful, cohesive societies."

On December 19, 2011, a historic milestone for girls' rights was achieved when the United Nations General Assembly formally declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. However, considering the importance of the Girl Child in the larger interests of the nation building task, Government of India way back in the year 2009 itself had declared that January 24 be observed every year as National Girl Child Day. It was on this date in 1966 Smt Indira Gandhi became the first woman Prime Minister of India.

A powerful indicator of social health of any society is CSR which is the number of girls per 1000 boys in the 0 - 6 Age group. According to the 2011 census, CSR for India today stands at 914 as compared to 927 in 2001, 945 in 1991 and 976 in 1961. The CSR for Rajasthan in 2001 and 2011 stood at 909 and 883 respectively. To counter this alarming situation, Govt of Rajasthan has recently formulated a Special Policy for Girls thus becoming the first state in the country to do so.

On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, following a traditional lamp lighting ceremony, Sangam University organized a Kavya Goshti in which well known Bhilwara poets Sri S K Lohani Khalis, Mrs Divya Oberoi, Mrs Shikha Naval Jagetia and Sri Narendra Verma from took part. Chemistry department faculty Dr Rakhi Goel and First year BTech student Miss Falguni recited poems in praise of the girl child.

Prof Shambhunath Tiwari from Aligarh Muslim University - AMU gave the key note address highlighting the importance of women in society. To create an environment of gender justice where men and women can work together with a sense of personal security and dignity, Mr SK Jain who heads the CRC at Sangam University administered an oath to all present. Miss Antima Soni Board member Sangam University spoke on the occasion and emphasized the fact that a girl child is no way inferior to a boy child. Mr Rakesh Kumar Gupta Vice President Reliance Industries also graced the function. BBA students Vivek Santani and Surbhi Mehta did an excellent job of anchoring the proceedings. Faculty members Mrs Alka Agarwal and Dr Preeti Mehta had organized the entire celebration schedule.

Anshu Jamsenpa from Arunachal Pradesh made history in 2011 when she became the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice within a span of ten days and bagged "Young Indian Leader" award by CNN - IBN. On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, Anshu Jamsenpa extended her heartiest greetings to one and all at Sangam University Bhilwara and said "I am a mother of two daughters and I tell them that they are at par with any boy, if not better. Girls should never underestimate themselves as they can outperform any male counterpart. National Girl Child Day indeed should be observed in every nook and corner of India so that it creates awareness among the masses."

Prof Natarajan President - Vice Chancellor Sangam University proposed vote of thanks highlighting the fact that it is indeed a matter of pride that Sangam University has emerged on the foundations laid by ITM which has unenviable record of 30% girls enrollment for the past ten years among top ranking colleges in India today which is to be viewed against the fact that the Engineering Workforce Commission in USA had found that in 2002, only 18.5% of all undergraduates at more than 500 different institutions were women.