International Day of the Girl Child

Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being

The International Day of the Girl Child is a globally recognized observance celebrated on October 11th each year. This day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness about the unique challenges and obstacles that girls face around the world. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of promoting and protecting the rights of girls and empowering them to reach their full potential. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses on issues such as access to quality education, healthcare, gender equality, and protection from discrimination, violence, and child marriage. It emphasizes the need to break down gender stereotypes and create a more inclusive and equitable world where girls can thrive and contribute to their communities and societies.

On this day, various organizations and governments come together to host events, workshops, and campaigns to promote the rights and well-being of girls. The observance of the International Day of the Girl Child is an opportunity to highlight the tremendous potential that girls possess and the vital role they play in building a more just and sustainable world. By raising awareness and taking action, we can help ensure that girls everywhere have the opportunities and support they need to lead fulfilling lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities and the broader global society.

This year, at a time when we are seeing a range of movements and actions to curtail girls’ and women’s rights and roll back progress on gender equality, we see particularly harsh impacts on girls. From maternal health care and parenting support for adolescent mothers, to digital and life skills training; from comprehensive sexuality education to survivor support services and violence prevention programmes; there is an urgent need for increased attention and resourcing for the key areas that enable girls to realize their rights and achieve their full potential.

Responding to girls’ calls for change, the global community must move beyond reaffirming commitments and invest boldly in the action needed to make that change. When we pay attention, we see that, already, many girls are championing solutions and change in their communities. Together with our government and civil society partners, UNICEF envisions a world where girls have space to shape government policy and spending to inform the rules and norms by which businesses should operate, and to direct the priorities for new research and innovations. These examples should not be novelties, but the norm.

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.

Article: International Day of the Girl Child | United Nations