Despite important steps toward equality, millions of girls still face tremendous hurdles to prosperity and regularly face severe violations of their human rights. Too often they are victims of sexual abuse, exploitation and so-called traditional practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, and too often denied their right to health, safety and education. They are also subject to gendered expectations of their roles in society as well as ingrained cultural bias which lead to fewer opportunities for employment outside of the unregulated or unpaid economy.
The theme of this year’s international Day of the girl is A Skilled GirlForce, which seeks to improve girls’ access to training and meaningful work in the developing world, particularly through access to Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This push alone will not address all the hurdles girls face in accessing their human rights, but it does represent an important sea change in how we understand the role of girls in society, not as passive recipients of services, but as empowered actors willing and able to shape their own future.
Today we underscore our commitment to not only protect the rights of all girls, and recognize the steps that must be taken to build an inclusive, safe world, but urge all states to act on their political commitments to provide opportunities for girls’ meaningful participation in the economy and in their communities.
Image Copyright UNICEF/UN0145564/Schermbrucker
