Thursday, October 11, 2012

Blog 7: International Girl Child Day to Support Girls' Rights




                                                 
 The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. It was adopted on December 19, 2011 and the day is meant to recognize girls' rights and the challenges girls face around the world.  Plan India is a child centered community, and it is celebrating the first ever “International Day the Girl Child” by illuminating monuments in pink. Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, Purana Quila in Delhi, and Charminar in Hyderabad will all be illuminated pink this October 11th to help create awareness and support for girls' rights. The organization “Because I am a Girl" is also urging people from all around the world to join hands together to support girls' rights. This year, the day will be focused on child marriage and how it is fundamental human rights .Child marriage denies a girl of her child hood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, and increases her risk to be a victim of violence and abuse. Child marriage also results in early and unwanted pregnancies, posing life-threatening risks on the girls. Civil society actors and the international community in partnership with governments are being called upon to take action to stop the harmful practice of child marriage. They are doing so by trying to enact and enforce appropriate legislation to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18, and improve access to good quality primary and secondary education to ensure that gender gaps in schooling are eliminated. They are also going to support girls who are already married by providing them with options for schooling, sexual and reproductive health services, livelihoods skills, opportunity, and recourse from violence in the home.


This was the first time I had read or hear anything about a Day of the Girl. What I really like about this new implemented day is that it is recognizing global girl issues and not mere local ones. I hope more than anything that the action the governments and civil societies plan on taking will actually help girls who are trapped into child marriage. The root causes underlining those child marriages include gender discrimination, low value of girls, poverty, or possibly religion. Regardless of the reasoning behind the marriage, it still denies a girl of her childhood and it affects all aspects of her life. According to the article, around one in three young women aged 20-24 years were first married before they reached age 18. One third of them entered into marriage before they turned 15. We may not live in a country where we can marry whomever we want, but we are very fortunate to least have a choice in choosing somewhere closer to our age group. I can only imagine what it must be like to spend your life with a partner you were forced to wed. I pray that this new Girls Day will indeed create awareness, and help children gain their rights worldwide.  

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/international-girl-child-day-to-support-girls-rights/1/224259.html

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