Celebrating International Day of the Girl, OCT 11

What do people do?
The International Day of the Girl Child gives people and organizations the opportunity to raise public awareness of the different types of discrimination and abuse that many girls around the world suffer from. On this day, many community and political leaders talk to the public about the importance of girls’ right to equal education and their fundamental freedoms. Various events are held to showcase the work that people are doing to empower girls through active support and engagement with parents, families, and the wider community.

Public life
The International Day of the Girl Child is a UN observance and not a public holiday.

Background
Discrimination and violence against girls and violations of their human rights still happen. The UN felt a need to raise awareness of the challenges that millions of girls face every day. In December 2011, the UN declared that it would annually observe the International Day of the Girl Child, starting from October 11, 2012.

Since 2012, the United Nations marks 11 October as the ‘International Day of the Girl Child’. The day promotes girls’ human rights, highlights gender inequalities that remain between girls and boys and addresses the various forms of discrimination and abuse suffered by girls around the world.

One in three women and girls experience abuse in their lifetime.

More than half of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16 years of age.

Globally, more than one in three young women aged 20-24 years are married before the age of 18.

Day of the Girl logo – Innovate 2 Educate

This year’s theme for the Day is “Innovating for Girls’ Education”.

To advance one of UN Women’s key priorities of ending violence against women and girls, UN Women has partnered with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with membership of 10 million members in 145 countries, to galvanize the potential and power of girls and young women around the world and end this pandemic.

On 11 October, a unique co-educational non-formal curriculum will be launched, designed to inform, educate and empower young people aged 5 to 25.

Voices against Violence will provide tools and expertise to understand the root causes of violence, build awareness and address its cultural and social triggers. It will equip girls to educate and involve their peers and communities, to prevent such violence and learn about where to access support when needed.

Working with youth organizations, UN partners and governments, UN Women and WAGGGS will roll out the curriculum to young people around the world. It will be adapted to national context, translated into local languages, and reach an estimated five million children and young people by 2020.

Message from UN Women Executive Director
To mark the second observance of the International Day of the Girl Child, Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka calls for a world where “every girl and boy can grow up with mutual respect, dignity and equality” and emphasizes UN Women’s commitment to stand up for the rights of girls worldwide.
Read her statement here. [Spanish] [French] [Russian]

Events
“Game Changers for Girls’ Education” is a high-level event for enhanced commitment by global leaders, sponsored by UNICEF, UN Women and Plan International, from1:15 – 2:45 p.m. EDT at ONE UN Hotel, in New York.

“Girls Speak Out: Showcasing Girl Activists from around the World” is an event organized by the Missions of Canada, Peru, and Turkey, from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at UN Headquarters.

Twitter takeover
Joining the WAGGGS’ “Girls in the Lead”! campaign, UN Women will let Girl Guide María Agustina Morando from Argentina take over the organization’s Twitter accounts on 11 October between 10 and 11am ET. For more information, Join the Conversation. Girl Guide takes over UN Women’s Twitter accounts on 11 October.

“Empowerment of and investment in girls are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights” – United Nations Resolution 66/170

DAYOFTHEGIRL.ORG

Let Girls Lead is building a global movement to improve the lives of 600 million girls and their communities around the world.

Let Girls Lead protects girls from violence, and ensures girls can attend school, stay healthy, and learn skills to escape poverty.

To date, we have contributed to the improved education, health, livelihoods, and rights of 3 million girls through girl-friendly laws, funding, and programs around the world. Let Girls Lead’s sister initiative, Champions for Change, leverages Let Girls Lead’s proven model to empower leaders and organizations to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in Nigeria.

Let Girls Lead is thrilled to launch our celebration of International Day of the Girl 2014 with a blog series written by amazing girl leaders involved in our work around the world. Today we are sharing a piece by Gabriela del Carmen, an 11 year old girl from Guatemala who shares her vision for girls and asks us to imagine a world of mutual respect and equality for every girl around the world.

I am a girl. I imagine a world in which we girls are respected, where we are not abused, and where our rights are respected by everyone around us. A world where we are loved, taken care of, protected, taught, and empowered.

In this world, every girl would be born by her parents’ choice, not by obligation or carelessness; this must not be taken lightly. Parents should be prepared and ensure that they will be able to provide a proper home, security, protection, love, and education. To achieve this, parents must be given information and counseling. The idea is that they should be ready to teach in a fun way, with games and songs, that allow girls to learn about their body and sexuality, free from fear and taboos, for this could give them the wrong idea about themselves. Our parents should be prepared to teach and counsel without hitting or yelling, never thinking they own or are superior to us girls.

Education should be free of all these things, as well as free of stereotypes that claim girls must cook and sew, like the color pink, exist only to please their husbands, and become mothers by force. We should also be free of the pressure that tells us we must look like Barbies. The classic stereotype of women is someone who is tall, blonde, and thin, desires unnecessary things like trendy shoes and jeans, and longs to find the alleged Prince Charming.

In the world I imagine, we would be free. We could express our doubts about our bodies and sexuality. We could also be ourselves without being judged, no matter what we decide to do, knowing that we will always have the support of our parents.

When I picture this world, I realize it is completely different to the world we live in today.

We girls have rights that must not be abused. Everyone around us must be taught to respect us and not to see us as objects that can be manipulated. We are not anybody’s princesses or queens, nor are we the actresses of our destiny; we are the authors of our way.

Now, let all of us girls use our beautiful voices and get everyone to listen to how we picture the world.

How do you imagine it?

We invite you to follow our @LetGirlsLead blog series, running from Monday, September 22nd to the International Day of the Girl on Saturday, October 11th on the Huffington Post. Each piece is an intimate window into the experiences of a girl leader and what she is doing to make the world a better place. Through the series, you can learn firsthand about the challenges facing girls globally and the amazing work girls are doing to create a better future.

Let Girls Lead is building a global movement of Champions who empower girls to attend school, stay healthy, escape poverty, and overcome violence. Let Girls Lead invests in girls and their allies to lead social change through advocacy, education, storytelling, economic empowerment, and strategic partnerships. Since 2009, Let Girls Lead’s externally validated model has contributed to improved health, education, livelihoods, and rights for more than 3 million girls through laws, programs, and funding. Let Girls Lead’s sister initiative, Champions for Change, leverages this proven model to save the lives of women, newborns, and children by empowering leaders and organizations to advocate for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in Nigeria.

Champions for Change and Let Girls Lead are headquartered at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA, a leader in global health and development for 50 years.

Follow Let Girls Lead on Twitter @letgirlslead