Progress of Girls in India Has Global Significance, Says UNICEF Deputy Executive Director

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hannan Suleman has praised the progress made in improving the status of girls in India, saying the country’s achievements in education and gender equality have significance far beyond its borders.

Speaking at an event organised by India and Sierra Leone at the United Nations to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, Suleman said girls’ education in India had improved significantly over the past decade, reflecting growing recognition of their value within families.

India is home to the world’s largest adolescent population, with 253 million adolescents, she noted, emphasising that progress for girls in the country could have a wider global impact.

“India has shown that sustained investment, large-scale community engagement, and policy action can drive real, meaningful change,” Suleman said.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P Harish, highlighted the impact of initiatives aimed at advancing girls’ education, drawing on his own experience at Osmania University College of Engineering in Hyderabad.

Recalling his time as a mechanical engineering student, Harish said there were no girls in his class because the discipline was traditionally considered male-dominated. Today, however, girls account for nearly 70 per cent of the class at his university, he said, describing the change as evidence of progress within a single generation.

Harish cautioned that artificial intelligence remains a male-dominated field and called on countries to ensure that the emerging technology becomes more inclusive of girls and women.

“We only hear of tech bros. We don’t hear of tech sisters,” he said, urging UN member states to make the AI sector more girl-friendly and women-friendly.

He added that India was using digital tools, including digital public infrastructure, to strengthen girls’ education. AI-based tutorials and child-focused learning materials, he said, could help improve educational outcomes.

Sierra Leone’s Deputy Foreign Minister Jeneba Bangura said investing in girls strengthens families, communities and nations while contributing to a more peaceful and prosperous world.

She stressed that girls should be recognised not only as vulnerable groups but also as agents of change, innovators, leaders and contributors to economic growth. Sierra Leone, she said, was working with India and other partners towards a world where a girl’s birthplace does not determine her future.

Liberia’s Permanent Representative Lewis Brown recalled the role played by women in helping end the country’s civil wars between 1989 and 2003. He cited the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement, which mobilised communities and pressed leaders to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Brown said greater efforts were now needed to secure a better future for Liberia’s girls.

Algeria’s Permanent Representative Amar Bendjama also underlined the importance of investing in girls’ rights, well-being, opportunities and digital education, saying the conditions created for girls today would shape their choices and contributions in the future.