Every year on October 11th the International Day of the Girl Child is observed. October 11th was a date which was set by the United Nations to urge the global community for emboldening gender equality impacts. This year the United Nation requested the world to bridge the gender digital divide that already exists in various skills and jobs. They have addressed it as a challenge that society is fishing at a higher rate because of the prevailing coronavirus disease and pandemics. The United Nations said in an official statement that, “the gender digital divide in connectivity, devices, and use, skills and jobs is real,” while they said in detail about the significance of the International Day of the Girl Child 2021.
The UN website reads, “it is an inequity and exclusion gap across geographies and the generations that is our challenge to address if the digital revolution is to be for all, with all, by all. Let’s seize the momentum to drive action and accountability of GEF commitments made, for and with girls to achieve a bold vision of bridging the digital gender divide.”
The history of the International Day of the Girl Child:
In 1995 at the world conference on women that took place in China, the blueprint for a perfect framework of recognizing the girl’s rights started to take shape gradually. The Beijing Declaration and platform for action which was unanimously accepted by all the countries present was then regarded as, “the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls.”
Then, the United Nation general assembly (UNGA) announced October 11th to be recognized as the International Day of the Girl Child on December 18th in 2011. This day was declared to recognize the different challenges that all girls face all around the world. This type of challenge may share links but also is completely different from the kind of challenges that women face. The first International Day of the Girl Child was observed in 2012, and it began as a project to plan an international and nongovernmental organization that will operate worldwide.
The significance of the International Day of the Girl Child
The girls in their adolescence go through many important phases and through these phases they can be empowered with the right tools to change the world by providing a safe, educated, and healthy lifestyle. Girls have a unique ability and a potential to play the role of both- the empowered girl of today and as well as tomorrow’s mother, worker, entrepreneur mentor, head, politician leader, or household. According to the United Nations, “An investment in realizing the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflicts, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.”
The world leaders in 2015 adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development along with its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to embody a roadmap for the progress that is successful and sustainable which will not leave a single girl behind, and these 17 goals will help to achieve gender equality along with women’s empowerment.
Ways to get involved:
As this year’s theme is “digital generation, our generation”, you can get involved in this year’s International Day of the Girl Child by sharing some stories, sharing inspiring videos of adolescent girls who have achieved great things in various fields or you can even simply write a blog. One can even start a social media campaign to raise funds for unprivileged girls.
