October 11: International Day of the Girl Child

Young adolescent girls pose for a group photograph at the AGG meeting at the Anganwadi Centre, Husangar village, Sri Dungargarh block, Bikaner district, Rajasthan, India
UNICEF/2018/Soumi Das (source: un.org)

“In 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls. The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights.

On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.” (source:un.org).

The following quote is directly from un.org but sounds like it could have come directly from Soroptimist International of the Americas mission and vision statements:
“Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders. An investment in realizing the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.”

So what can you do?  Promote the rights of women & girls not just on October 11th but everyday because…empowered women & girls are less likely to enter into or stay in an abusive relationship…empowered women & girls are less like to fall victim to human traffickers….because empowered women & girls can and will change the world for good.

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