October 11th is marked as International Day of the Girl Child, but as far as this topic is concerned, there is much to be said and much left to be desired.
In the world, nearly 1.1 billion girls are part of a new generation, ready to take the path of the future. However, the gender equality ambition of Sustainable Development Goals emphasizes the prevalence of disadvantage and discrimination they face around the world – on a daily basis.
With this idea, the theme of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child was their progress in relation to society – an ongoing SDG’s journey which deserves applause in insisting that women should have more space. This would not be useful only for girls but also for families, communities and society at large,
In addition, there is a need for a lot of analysis and statistics conducted in the best possible way to support girls to participate in important processes to actualize themselves in modern societies. Only when we can invest more in health, safety, education and the rights of girls, to support them to achieve their dreams and build better lives for them and their community, we can say that we have worked for equality.
Quick Global Statistics:
– Globally, one in every seven women aged 15-19 is married.
– In developing countries (with the exception of China), one in every three girls gets married before they reach the age of 18 – meaning that the future of about 47,700 young girls disappears every day.
– Girls who marry at an early age are often victims of physical and sexual violence, are banned from home schooling and are less able to advocate for their lives and rights.
– New marriages are followed by early pregnancy even if a girl is not yet physically and mentally ready to become a mother.
– In developing countries, every day, about 20,000 girls under the age of 18 become mothers, which means over 7 million a year.
– Educated girls are more likely to marry and become mothers on time, while those with secondary education are six times less likely to have marriages and early pregnancies than those who have not been educated at all. This shows that education plays a key role in this negative phenomenon.
Such phenomena are particularly emphasized in countries with low economic and educational standards. Hoping that human rights organizations will be more effective in combating these phenomena and the world will become better for everyone. While we hope that such messages will be disseminated to all people and together, we will build an equal world for all.
