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 also girls.
Furthermore in 2011 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, highlighting the unique challenges they face around the world.
The International Day of the Girl focuses attention not only on the need to highlight and address these challenges, but also to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind. (I have previously posted about the SDGs here and how we are promoting this locally).
In New Zealand the International Day of the Girl is a reminder that not every Kiwi child gets the childhood they deserve. Shakti, a refuge for ethnic women in New Zealand, is promoting the day to highlight the veiled childhoods of some of our girls.
Shockingly, up to 50 per cent of Shakti’s crisis work is with girls forced into underage marriages. ‘It’s surprisingly prevalent in migrant communities,’ says Shakti spokesperson Polly Peña, who recently helped set up a safe house in Wellington.
Chris Frazer, social justice advocate for the Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) says that ‘overwhelmingly, extreme poverty and deprivation continues to wear a female face.’ She is working with Shakti to promote the International Day of the Girl. ‘We are all made in God’s image. And girls – as well as boys – deserve the chance to grow and thrive in the knowledge they are loved, respected and valued,’ she says.
Sunday 11 October provides ‘each one of us the opportunity to read, reflect, pray and above all, to act to bring violence, harmful judgment and indifference to an end.’
Check out the following links:
The life and times of Perry... 