“A GIRL CHILD brings joy; she is no less than a boy.”
In keeping with this faith, the International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated annually on 11th October. The main aims of the day are to promote girls’ empowerment and fulfilment of their human rights while also highlighting the challenges that girls all over the world face.
The International Day of the Girl Child gives people and organizations the opportunity to raise public awareness of different types of discrimination and abuse that many girls around the world suffer from. On this day, many communities and political leaders talk to the public about the importance of girls’ right to equal education and their fundamental freedom. 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.
Each year’s International Day of the Girl has its own theme, past themes have included ‘EmPower Girls: Before, During and After Crisis’ (2017) and ‘Girls Progress = Goals Progress: What Counts For Girls’ (2016).
Launched in 2012 by the United Nations general assembly, amongst the issues focused on by the International Day of the Girl Child are education, equality, child marriage, access to services regarding puberty and sexual health and addressing issues around gender-based violence.
The Day of The Girl Summit, held at United Nations headquarters every year aims to bring together organisations that serve girls to further the advancement of their human rights. All over the world, there are marches and special events such as concerts and sporting events to mark the occasion. In a global ‘takeover’ girls get the chance to take over key roles in business, politics and sport for the day and stories are shared on social media with the hashtags #girlstakeover #dayofthegirl and #girlhero!
So, protect you #girlheroes, educate them and make them the leaders of tomorrow!
