Kanya Vandan or Kanya Pujan literary means girl’s respect.  The Kanya Vandan Mahotsava is a grand function which is being organize for welcome and honour of girls children in society. Kanya Vandan is actually an ancient  Hindu holy ritual, generally carried out on eighth and ninth day (Ashtami and Navami) of the Navaratri festival. This festival is celebrated in month of Chaitra  and Ashvini of Hindu calendar. The Hindus celebrates this festival of goddess Durga everywhere in the world. The ceremony primarily involves the worship of nine girls, representing the nine forms of Goddess  Durga  called Navadurga. but here in our Mahotsava we worship all Kanyas, who come. Its also called as Kumari Pujan in many states of India. In Kanya Vandan, it is a custom to wash and clean the feet of these nine young girls as a mark of respect for the whole feminine power, the Goddess Durga. Kanya Puja as a part of Devi worship, is to recognise the feminine power vested in the girl child.  As per Hindu philosophy, these  9  girls are considered as the manifestation of the natural force of creation. It is said that it was on the ninth day of Navaratri that Shakti had taken the form of Goddess Durga, on the request of the devas to kill the demon Mahisasura. Indian scritures say that in kanya,  the great feminine potential is at its peak. Having developed into a girl of a certain age and before attaining puberty, a female child is considered the most auspicious, most awaken and the most clear minded & pure souled individual. Therefore the girl child of the age before puberty is indeed a Devi.
Actually, the highest respect is given for women (whole feminine power) in Indian civilization from time immemorial. People do prayer to goddess Durga, that

-विद्या: समस्तास्तव देवि भेदा: स्त्रिय: समस्ता: सकला जगत्सु।त्वयैकया पूरितमम्बयैतत् का ते स्तुति: स्तव्यपरा परोक्ति :॥अर्थ :- देवि! सम्पूर्ण विद्याएँ तुम्हारे ही भिन्न–भिन्न स्वरूप हैं। जगत् में जितनी स्त्रियाँ हैं, वे सब तुम्हारी ही मूर्तियाँ हैं। जगदम्ब! एकमात्र तुमने ही इस विश्व को व्याप्त कर रखा है। तुम्हारी स्तुति क्या हो सकती है? तुम तो स्तवन करने योग्य पदार्थो से परे एवं परा वाणी हो।

We can easily understand how the Hindu society give respect to the girls and women. In ancient Indian culture, women were treated as equal to men and there was no gender based discrimination in the society. Women were honored by society and society at the time considered women as Janani i.e  mother. In Hindu scripture women are considered as Devi.  It is written  that-

यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवताः ।
यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सर्वास्तत्राफलाः क्रियाः ।।

जहाँ स्त्रियों की पूजा होती है वहाँ देवता निवास करते हैं और जहाँ स्त्रियों की पूजा नही होती है, उनका सम्मान नही होता है वहाँ किये गये समस्त अच्छे कर्म निष्फल हो जाते हैं।   Means, where women are worshiped, there lives the Gods. Wherever they are not worshiped, all actions result in failure.

शोचन्ति जामयो यत्र विनश्यत्याशु तत्कुलम् ।
न शोचन्ति तु यत्रैता वर्धते तद्धि सर्वदा ।।

जिस कुल में स्त्रियाँ कष्ट भोगती हैं ,वह कुल शीघ्र ही नष्ट हो जाता है और जहाँ स्त्रियाँ प्रसन्न रहती है वह कुल सदैव फलता फूलता और समृद्ध रहता है ।
Means,  the family in which women (such as mother, wife, sister, daughter etc.) are full of sorrow that family meets its destruction very soon; while the family in which they do not grieve is always prosperous.