CJI Gavai Flags Vulnerability of Girl Child in Digital Era

Despite constitutional and legal safeguards, many girls across the country continue to be tragically deprived of their fundamental rights and even basic needs for survival, she said, and this vulnerability exposes them to disproportionately high risks of sexual abuse, exploitation and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, malnutrition, sex-selective abortion, human trafficking and child marriage against their will.

“Ensuring her safety means not just protecting her body but also liberating her soul. Creating a society where she can hold her head high with dignity and where her aspirations are nurtured through education and equality… We must confront and overcome deep-rooted patriarchal traditions that continue to deny girls their rightful place,” the CJI said.

Recalling Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Where the Mind Is Fearless”, Justice Gavai said that the poem reflects the essence of what is being tried to be achieved in the protection of the girl child.

“This vision will remain incomplete as long as any girl child in our country lives in fear – fear of violence, fear of discrimination or fear of being denied the chance to learn and dream,” he said, adding that only when every girl child grows up in an atmosphere of freedom and respect can it be said with conviction that the country awakens to the “paradise of freedom” that Tagore spoke so eloquently about.

Calling for a deeper dive into the social, economic and cultural barriers that continue to hinder the lives of girls, the CJI, in the presence of Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi and UNICEF-India country representative Cynthia McCaffrey, said the threats faced by young girls are no longer limited to physical spaces but spread across the vast and often unregulated digital world.

“Additionally, in today’s technological age where innovation defines progress, it is important to recognize that technology, while empowering, also introduces new vulnerabilities, especially for girls,” she said, adding: “From online harassment, cyberbullying and digital harassment to the misuse of personal data and deepfake images, the challenges have evolved in both scale and complexity.”

Emphasizing the need for specialized training, the CJI said institutions, policy frameworks and implementing authorities must therefore adapt to the realities of the time.

“Training programs for police officers, educators, healthcare professionals and local administrators need to ultimately include a responsive approach and equip them to respond with empathy, tact and contextual understanding,” he said.

The CJI also noted that laws addressing online sexual exploitation, digital human trafficking and cyberstalking need to be paired with effective enforcement, education and awareness initiatives.

“Protecting the girl child must become a core priority of digital governance, ensuring that technological progress is accompanied by ethical safeguards,” he stressed and said in a digital future, technology must serve as a tool for liberation rather than exploitation.

“Safeguarding the girl child today means securing her future in classrooms, workplaces and on every screen she encounters,” he said, addressing the program that was attended by several Supreme Court and high court judges, child rights activists, lawyers and others on the premises of the apex court.

Justice BV Nagarathna, president of the apex court JJC, said a teenage girl in India can be said to be a truly equal citizen only when she can freely aspire to do whatever her male counterpart does and receives the same quality support and resources to do so and faces no barriers inherent to her on account of her gender.

“In other words, the likelihood that he will be born, that he will have access to proper nutrition, care, education and material resources, that he will have access to a safe and secure environment, that he will develop a distinct sense of self, and that he will be able to achieve anything he sets his mind to, should be equivalent to that of a boy born in this country. He must not only survive, but actively thrive,” she said.

JJC member Justice JB Pardiwala said protecting the girl child means that every girl child has the right to live, learn and grow with equality, free from harm, discrimination and violence such as female feticide and child marriage.

“It includes providing equal access to education, health care, and resources, elevating his value in families and society, and empowering him to make informed choices and reach his full potential as a respected individual and contributing member of society,” she said.

Justice Pardiwala introduced a handbook on “Child Rights and Law” prepared by the top court’s Research and Planning Center under the guidance of JJC.