International Day of the Girl Child

world-girl-child-dayThe International Day of the Girl Child promotes girls’ rights and highlights gender inequalities. It is a UN observance held on October 11.

The International Day of the Girl Child gives the opportunity to raise public awareness of the different types of discrimination and abuse that many girls around the world suffer from.

Main Challenges

  • Teach your children about fair and respectful treatment of girls. It is essential to adopt inclusive and nonsexist teaching methods (at school and at home), focusing on the rights and empowerment of all human beings and grounded on positive and participatory methods capable of limiting the influence of gender stereotypes – promote a non-sexist language.
  • Promote gender equality in schools, widen access to education for girls and tackle the sexualization of women and girls and stereotypes conveyed by  the media and popular culture (advertising)
  • Bring forced early marriage and premature pregnancy to an end. Pregnancy is the leading cause of death or girls between 15 to 19 years of age. Child marriage is a reality faced by 15 million girls each year. It is a violation of human rights which destroys girl’s childhoods and women’s lives, shattering their chance of completing an education and putting them at greater risk of violence and isolation.

Infographic: http://www.unwomen.org/

infographic-child-marriage-en

  • Bring the practice of female genital mutilation to an end. At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone this cruel practice without any medical reason whatsoever. Female genital mutilation is an extreme form of violence used to control girls’ and women’s sexuality.
  • Tackle all forms of human trafficking and the exploitation girls in prostitution and pornography.
  • Combat the forms of exploitation and violence against girls that have emerged as a result of the development of new technologies, in particular those involving the Internet and social networks, such as cyber bullying.