International Day of the Girl History
International Day of the Girl is focused on promoting and empowering girls' rights globally, with an emphasis on addressing the unique challenges they face. Established by the United Nations, this day aims to raise awareness of issues such as education, health, safety, and equality for girls. The observance also serves as a platform for advocating policy changes that can help improve girls' lives and bring attention to the invaluable contributions they make to society.
The idea for International Day of the Girl originated from youth-led advocacy groups in the early 2000s and culminated in a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011. In the United States, efforts on this day often focus on supporting girls' education, raising awareness about gender-based violence, expanding economic opportunities for girls, and addressing systemic barriers that perpetuate gender inequality. The U.S. government has implemented policies and initiatives aimed at promoting girls' rights domestically and globally, recognizing the importance of empowering girls as agents of social change and progress.
Schools, organizations, and communities host discussions, workshops, and seminars that highlight the importance of advancing girls' rights and opportunities. In recent years, initiatives such as the U.S. Strategy on Adolescent Girls and the GirlsLead program have been implemented to provide support and guidance to girls on leadership issues. International Day of the Girl is held annually on October 11th.
Facts about International Day of the Girl
The theme for International Day of the Girl Child in 2023 was Invest in Girls' Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being.
It is estimated that over 100 million women around the world are missing. Female infanticide and selective abortion are still commonly practiced in Asia and have led to uneven ratios of men and women all over Asia.
There are some 650 million women alive today who were child brides.
In India, there are laws that prevent expecting mothers from finding out the sex of the baby due to selective abortions and discrimination against baby girls.
One-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18. This increases the risk of HIV, unwanted pregnancy, and discontinued education.
To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman? - Mahatma Ghandi
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