Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
National Girl Child Day: MukkaMaar brings Delhi’s top voice together to ask: Are we ready for girls who speak up?
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, January 28, 2026:On National Girl Child Day, MukkaMaar, a non-profit organisation working with adolescent girls to prevent gender-based violence, hosted the special pre-launch of ZIDD: Voices of Resistance, followed by a high-level panel discussion on girl safety and empowerment at YMCA Auditorium, New Delhi. Panellists included Ajay Chaudhry, Special Commissioner, SPUWAC (Special Police Unit for Women and Children), Delhi Police; Dr Rashmi Singh, IAS, Secretary, Department of Women & Child Development, GNCT of Delhi; Atiya Bose, Founding Member & Lead, Aangan Trust; and Ishita Sharma, Founder & CEO, MukkaMaar. The session was moderated by Ravi Verma, Executive Director, ICRW (International Centre for Research on Women), Asia.
At a time when conversations on women’s safety often overlook the lived realities of girls, ZIDD: Voices of Resistance brought adolescent girls to the centre, through stories inspired by real-life experiences that reflect resistance, questioning, and everyday acts of courage in the face of violence.
The discussion brought together senior voices from law enforcement, government, and the child rights ecosystem to reflect on a pressing question collectively: Are we prepared, individually and institutionally, for girls who speak up?
Speaking at the event, Dr Rashmi Singh, IAS, emphasised the importance of MukkaMaar’s redefined approach to self-defence. She added: “We need to redefine violence. It cannot be limited only to physical harm. Mental and emotional violence are equally real and damaging”.
Special Commissioner of Police Ajay Chaudhry, IPS, reflected on the persistence of violence despite legal reforms. “In the last 15 years of my service, I have heard thousands of such stories. Even after decades, we don’t see enough change. Change can only come by increasing collective consciousness. After Nirbhaya, young people’s protests led to fast-track courts and changes in law. If you don’t challenge, you won’t be heard. Bolna padega. You cannot stay silent.”
Atiya Bose, who leads Aangan, underscored the need to reframe how society views safety“We don’t see safety as a public good; we see it as a private concern. We don’t demand safety infrastructure the way we should. Safety is a fundamental right”, said Atiya.
Speaking about society’s perception of violence, Ishita Sharma, Actor and Founder & CEO of MukkaMaar, shared: “We need to lower our tolerance for violence. We often only recognise penetrative assault, but girls need to feel supported to speak up about all forms of violence.”
Calling for collaboration beyond sectors, Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, in her closing remarks, emphasised the need to shift social norms and build collective responsibility to strengthen girls’ safety and resistance. She also issued a clarion call for stakeholders to come together to advance safety across Delhi.
Highlighting the stories in the book, Ishita Sharma emphasised the courage of girls who resist everyday violence. “Girls learn very early that they have only two choices: be ‘nice’ or be safe. The girls in this book refuse that choice; they refuse to silently tolerate violence as normal”.
The event emphasised that building safer futures for girls requires centring their voices and lived experiences across policy, practice, and institutional responses.
ABOUT MUKKAMAAR: Founded in 2018 by Ishita Sharma, MukkaMaar (https://MukkaMaar.org ) is a non-profit organisation working since 2018 that partners with government institutions to empower adolescent girls through child-centric, empowerment-based self-defence programmes that combine physical skills with life skills for agency building. Over 7 years, MukkaMaar has worked with 100+ schools and 50K+ students and adults to redefine the way self-defence training is done across India.