International Day of the Girl Child Observance

There are 1.1 billion girls in the world today, a powerful group for shaping a sustainable world that will be better for everyone. These girls are blessed with wonderful talents and creativity, however, their dreams and potential are too often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities.

Today October 11th marks the International Day of the Girl Child (IDG). This day is dedicated to raising awareness of the unique challenges girls face around the world, such as:

·         Poverty

·         Inequality

·         Gender based violence

·         Sexual harassment and abuse

·         Forced early marriage

·         Teenage pregnancies

·         And more

As well as promoting girls’ rights to basic education, medical treatment, protection from social and economic exploitation, and more. Most importantly, it is a day to celebrate our girls for their strength, resilience, creativity, beauty and unique expression!

Placed under the 2019 theme of “GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable”, the day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

The International Day of the Girl Child pays more attention on more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender.  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.

The celebration of the day also “reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research. International Day of the Girl Child increases awareness of issues faced by girls around the world #DayofGirlChild #Equality #HumanRights #SDG5 #HappyGirlsDay