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Dimapur, Jan. 24 (EMN): Nagaland on Friday joined the rest of the country in observing National Girl Child Day. It aims at spreading awareness about the inequalities faced by the girl child and to ensure that they get equal opportunities and exposure. Established by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the government of India on January 24 in 2008, the day is also a reminder for Nagaland to address some of the inequalities faced by the girl children in education.
Nagaland has a literacy rate of 79.55% in which male literacy rate is 82.75% whereas, the female literacy rate is 76.11%. Although women in Nagaland are dominating in the field of education, the census data reveals a different reality of the Naga society, where a gender-based preference for educational opportunities prevails in Nagaland.
Talking to Eastern Mirror, the chairperson of Nagaland State Commission for Women, Khrienuo Tachü, said the need of the hour in Nagaland is for providing quality education and equal opportunity to girls.
Expressing strong concern over the low literacy rate of women in Nagaland as compared to men, Tachü urged parents not to differentiate children based on gender. She encouraged them to empower their girl child with quality education, giving them equal opportunity to strive forward in life.
She said that it was time for women in Nagaland to pursue education with aggression and with a desire to empower oneself with the knowledge to bring a collective positive growth of the Naga society.
"If we want to see accelerated growth of our society, every stakeholder needs to provide special privileges and equal opportunity for a girl child for her to learn and grow in a free manner," said Tachü, adding that inner empowerment with quality education can bring forth wholesome development, which will contribute to the nation's growth.