INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD

The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030

International Day of the Girl Child (Day of the Girl) is celebrated annually on October 11 to highlight issues concerning the gender inequality facing young girls. This year’s theme is “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.”

There are nearly 600 million girls aged 10 to 19 in the world today, each with limitless individual potential, however they are disappearing from public awareness and the international development agenda. Between inequities in secondary education to protection issues, adolescent girls are uniquely impacted and should benefit from targeted investments and programmes that address their distinct needs. Investing in adolescent girls can have a formidable ripple effect to create a better world by 2030. On this International Day of the Girl, join us in highlighting the unique challenges and potential of adolescent girls.

International Day of the Girl Child:
On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. This is in recognition by the United Nations of the fact that empowerment of and investment in girls is critical for economic growth, the achievement of millennium development goals, including the eradication of poverty and extreme poverty, as well as the meaningful participation of girls in decisions that affect them. In 2012, the theme for the day was "My Life. My Right. End Child Marriages."In 2013, the theme for the day was "Innovating for Girls' Education."In 2014, the theme for the day was "Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence."
Resolution A/RES/66/170


Girls are our future. This year, for the fourth annual International Day of the Girl Child, on 11 October, join global efforts to ensure a world free of discrimination for young women and girls.

This year’s theme focuses on adolescent girls and the Sustainable Development Goals, which set a range of international targets, including on gender equality, to be achieved by 2030.

As a particularly vulnerable demographic, adolescent girls face social, economic and political barriers. While they hold the potential to become leaders and effect change, their empowerment can be hindered by factors such as unwanted pregnancy, forced early marriage, gender-based violence and limited access to higher education and reproductive health services.In numbers

Worldwide, more than 700 million women were married as children (below 18 years of age). More than one in three—or some 250 million—were married before 15. And child brides are often unable to effectively negotiate safe sex, leaving them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy [1].
Every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, anadolescent girl dies as a result of violence [2].
In emergencies, adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to sexual violence, and in some cases, are abducted and exploited for sexual purposes by armed groups [3].
Nearly half (44 per cent) of adolescent girls worldwide aged 15 to 19 think a husband or partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife or partner under certain circumstances. More on http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/girl-child