International Day of the Girl Child
International Day of the Girl Child is an international holiday declared by the United Nations. This day is also called International Girls’ Day and Girls ‘Day. 11th October, 2012 was the first observed girls’ day. The aim of this day is to call for more opportunities for girls and raises awareness about the gender inequality. This inequality encompasses areas such as nutrition, access to education, health care, legal rights and protection against discrimination, forced child marriage and violence against women. The celebration of the day also reflects the successful rise of young women and girls as an independent cohort in various development policy, research and campaigning.
Highlights
This day raises awareness about the problems faced by girls around the world. Many global development plans do not include or take into account girls and their problems become invisible. Globally and collectively, girls aged between 5 to 14 years dedicate more than 160 million more hours to household chores than boys of the same age. One in four girls in the world marries before the age of 18.
Why is this day observed?
This day not only helps raise awareness of the issues girls face, but also what is likely to happen when those issues are resolved. For example, educating girls helps reduce the rate of child marriages and illnesses, and strengthens the economy by giving them access to higher-paying jobs.
History of this day
The International Girls’ Day initiative began as a project of Plan International, a global non-governmental organization. The idea for an international commemoration and holiday came from Plan International’s “Because I am a Girl” campaign, which draws attention to the importance of promoting girls around the world, especially in developing countries. Plan International representatives in Canada contacted the Canadian federal government to alert the international coalition of supporters of the initiative. Finally, Plan International called on the United Nations to get involved. International Girls’ Day was officially proposed as a Canadian resolution to the United Nations General Assembly. A delegation of women and girls made presentations in support of the initiative before the 55th Commission on the Status of Women of the United Nations. On 19th December, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution declaring 11th October, 2012 as the first International Girls’ Day.
