Lucknow, March 2026 : On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Samagra Shiksha Department, Uttar Pradesh, with the support of UNICEF, successfully organized a state-level program on Sunday at Dayal Gateway Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, on the theme “Pragati 2026: Atma Samman Se Samanta Tak’ and International Women’s Day.” On this occasion, girls came from various districts of the state gave an impressive display of their talent, confidence, and leadership abilities.
In the program, Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Minister Sandeep Singh was the chief guest. While addressing the girls, teachers and others he said that daughters today are showcasing their talent and capabilities in every field. Through education, important steps are being taken towards bringing positive change in society by developing self-respect and leadership abilities among girls. He said that the state government remains continuously committed to the education, safety, and empowerment of girls.
Additional Chief Secretary (Basic and Secondary Education) Parth Sarathi Sen Sharma, Director General School Education Monika Rani, and Chief UNICEF Uttar Pradesh Dr Zakari Adam also addressed the program. The vote of thanks was delivered by Additional State Project Director Rajendra Prasad.
In this state-level event, around 850 participants from 75 districts of the state took part. The program saw representation of students associated with 746 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, 45,656 Upper Primary and Composite Schools, and 1129 PM-SHRI schools. After competitions held at the district and divisional levels, talented children selected from 18 divisions presented their creative performances at state-level , showcasing the confidence and leadership abilities of daughters.
During the program, cultural performances presented by the girls included street plays, songs, dance, and yoga demonstrations remained the centre of attraction. Through these performances, the message of education, women’s empowerment, and gender equality was effectively presented.
Special sessions were also organized to display comic books created by children and to share inspirational experiences, which greatly impressed the audience present.
On this occasion, 23 girls who made remarkable contributions in the fields of sports, education, and social change were also felicitated. While presenting the achievements of these girls on stage, they were recognized as a source of inspiration for other students.
At the event, 22 special stalls based on different themes were also set up, which remained a major attraction of the program. Through these stalls, information related to activities such as innovation in education, gender equality, scientific approach, social-emotional learning, parent participation, and career guidance was presented. Activity-based teaching material, science innovations, comic book creation, and puppet presentations especially attracted the attention of children and parents.
Daughters felicitated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026
Name
School/Institution
District
Achievement
Bhavana
KGBV Kundarki
Moradabad
Selected for the State Hockey Team
Anokhi
KGBV Malihabad
Lucknow
Selected for the State Football Team
Payal Pal
KGBV Malihabad
Lucknow
Selected for the State Football Team
Shikha Gangwar
KGBV Bhojipura
Bareilly
Bronze medal winner in National Taekwondo Competition
Neha Sagar
Fatehganj
Bareilly
Gold medal winner in State-level Taekwondo Competition
Vanshika Yadav
KGBV Bareilly Nagar Area
Bareilly
Gold medal winner in National Taekwondo Competition
Soni
KGBV Bulandshahr Nagar Area
Bulandshahr
Gold medal winner in State-level Thang-Ta Competition
Prachi
KGBV Bulandshahr Nagar Area
Bulandshahr
Gold medal winner in State-level Thang-Ta Competition
Priyanshi
KGBV Lakhawati
Bulandshahr
Gold medal winner in State-level Thang-Ta Competition
Tamanna
KGBV Anupshahr
Bulandshahr
Gold medal winner in State-level Thang-Ta Competition
Lali
KGBV Ganj Muradabad
Unnao
Selected for the State Cricket Team
Sheikh Rafia
KGBV Ganj Muradabad
Unnao
Selected for the State Cricket Team
Sonali Bharti
KGBV Bhathat
Gorakhpur
Gold medal winner in State-level Taekwondo Competition
Muskan Baghel
KGBV Atrauli
Aligarh
Selected in the State-level Kabaddi Team
Kunjal Saroj
KGBV Sevapuri
Varanasi
Selected for ISRO Educational Visit (2023)
Chhaya Chaurasia
KGBV Kopaganj
Mau
Passed Class 10 with 95% Marks
Garima
KGBV Thekma
Azamgarh
Passed Class 10 with 95% Marks
Shagun Vishwakarma
KGBV Bhadohi
Bhadohi
Passed Class 10 with 80% Marks
Mahshar Jahan
Upper Primary School Nagli Chhoiya, Haldaur
Bijnor
First woman in her village pursuing graduation; spreading awareness about girls’ education and preparing for government exams
Shivani
Composite School Barata Chirgaon, Badagaon
Jhansi
Working on women’s health and rights in the community
Nidhi Verma
UPS Kotra
Lakhimpur
Working as a nurse in Shahjahanpur
Shaheen
UPS Kumhraura
Barabanki
First female graduate in the village; working on children’s and girls’ rights
Rekha Singh
UPS Atonr
Ghaziabad
Played Under-16 National Cricket (2017); played Ranji Trophy five times (2017–2024); selected for National & Zonal Cricket Academies (2019) and Mumbai team nets (2024)
A glimpse of innovation, science and leadership seen in 22 stalls
State-level children’s festival on the theme ‘Pragati – Atma Samman Se Samanta Tak
Active participation of students, teachers, and parents in the state-level children’s festival
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the state-level children’s festival “Pragati – atma Samman Se Sammanta Tak and International Women’s Day” witnessed a unique confluence of education, innovation, and leadership development on Sunday. The 22 special stalls set up at the event venue in Dayal Gateway became the centre of attraction for children, teachers, and parents, where lively presentations of activities related to gender equality, scientific approach, social-emotional learning, and career guidance were showcased. Through activity-based learning, dialogue, and creative experiments, children got a new platform to demonstrate their talent, curiosity, and leadership abilities.
During the state-level children’s festival organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 22 special stalls based on different themes were set up, which became the major attraction of the entire event. Through these stalls, various dimensions related to innovation in education, gender equality, scientific approach, social-emotional learning, parent participation, and career guidance were presented in an interesting and activity-based manner.
The stalls set up in the program were divided into four major zones. In the first and second zones, under the Teacher TLM and Puppet Section, activity-based teaching materials prepared by teachers and puppet presentations attracted the attention of the audience. Through these presentations, subjects like gender equality, women’s empowerment, child rights, and life skills were creatively presented. Models and activities prepared by teachers from districts such as Kannauj, Shamli, Sitapur, Ayodhya, Raebareli, Barabanki, Lakhimpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Amethi connected children with the concept of “Learning by Doing.”
In these stalls, activities such as science innovations, early literacy and numeracy skill development, gender-sensitive teaching materials, and comic book creation were also displayed. Along with this, efforts being made for the empowerment of girls in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were also presented, including initiatives related to developing girls’ confidence, leadership ability, and personality development.
In the third zone, activities related to social-emotional learning and leadership development were organized for children. Here, through platforms such as the scientific approach dialogue forum, visual learning activities, creative expression platform, origami art center, and innovation-based activities, efforts were made to develop logical thinking, self-expression, empathy, and creativity among children.
In the fourth zone, under the Parent Participation and Career Counseling Section, activities such as the career counseling center, parent dialogue forum, leadership development activities, child rights awareness platform, and children’s parliament were organized. Through these stalls, children were informed about their rights, future career options, and leadership skills, while parents got the opportunity to understand their role in the education and personality development of their children.
