Baby Kumari, a child marriage survivor from Bihar inspires the children

New Delhi ,

On the occasion of United Nation’s International Day of Girl Child, Suncity School sector 54 hosted an awareness session initiated by Plan international and High Commission of Canada. Over 600 students were present to celebrate the occasion and support the cause. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Ms. Amanda Strohan, Minister Counselor and Counsel General, High Commission of Canada and Baby Kumari, a child marriage survivor from Bihar. She was honored for her bravery and achievements and was also introduced as the High Commissioner of Canada for the day by Ms. Strohan.

Baby Kumari is one of the 17 girls who have been shortlisted for their outstanding leadership qualities to be the ambassadors of various countries. She is a crusader and leader for girl’s rights in Bihar. She is currently the Executive Committee Member of Plan India National Youth Advisory Panel and Member of Plan India Youth Club.Sharing her journey, Baby Kumari said,” I am thankful to Plan India and High Commission of Canada to have given me this opportunity and platform to present my story in front of students of Suncity School. I belong to the village where the law is present but not enforced, girls are married off at young age and that is why I joined Plan India in 2009. Now I am working with Plan India against ‘Baal Vivaah’ in my village. We use Nukkad Natak as a medium to emphasize on the problems faced by girls who are married at a very young age. I want them to be able to fight for their rights.”

Emphasizing on the importance of Gender equality, Mrs. Rupa Chakravarty, Principal, Suncity School said, “Gender Sensitization is a path that every school should take to build up the sensibility and sensitivity of each sex. Rampant news about girl feticide, rape, domestic violence, and the thought behind it those children are reared with, that man is the superior gender, has to be negated. Not with words, we have done enough of that, now with only action.”

She added, “Our best ambassadors for gender sensitization are our children. Every child is unique and special. Irrespective of the sex they belong to, ‘Each child is able and noble’ is a thought they must be given for gender equality to make the world a better place.”

The event was organized to honour the bravery of such women and to make the students aware about the persisting gender inequality and child rights. Anushka Panda, the CBSE class X topper  in the specially-abled category from Suncity School was present and recited a poem written by her. The poem was about the story of θ. She has been an inspiration of many with her journey and achievements.

Speaking about the prevalent issue of Gender discrimination, Anushka Panda, a class 11 student, Suncity School said, “Many people are out there who are trying and striving to do something great. And I feel that since they belong from the rural background, it is much harder for them to get a great level, so the issues that are prevalent in the rural areas like dominating the girls and being unfair to them should be highlighted as well as the society in which we are growing up. I am inspired by her, and the one thing I learnt from Ms. Baby was, to try hard and hard to break all the stereotypes and be yourself. ”

“She is an inspiration for all of us, she has worked so hard and overcome so many hurdles in her life to fight for the rights that women don’t have. It is something we all really need to look up to. I knew that child marriages are prevalent in our country and other countries as well but I wasn’t aware of the huge numbers they’re in. It’s very important for girls like us who has privileges such as education to go ahead and fight all this and make sure that these sorts of things don’t take place. My only hope is that our generation is the one to end this practice.” Said Trisha Chatterjee, a student of Class 11, Suncity School.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Amanda Strohan, Minister Counselor and Counsel General, High commission of Canada said, “It’s a real delight and pleasure seeing Suncity School to participate on this important International Day of Girl child. I am so moved and indeed inspired to see the dedication and enthusiasm of the Students about the issues that affect girls. I have seen the instances firsthand; the challenges that girls and women face around the world just because they are female. And there is an urgent need of Women Empowerment which is not just the right thing to do but it is also the smart thing to do.”