What You Need To Know About The Day Of The Girl Child

Are you a girl, were you once a girl or do you have a girl child? This should be of interest to you.

The Day of the Girl is a response to an urgent problem facing our world today: the neglect and devaluation of girls around the world. On October 11 of every year, we see dynamic groups across the world (led by girls, of course) acting to highlight, discuss, celebrate and ultimately advance girls’ lives and opportunities across the globe. When girls come together to talk about what really matters to us, we can teach ourselves and other people–adults, boys, and other girls all across the world–new ways of thinking about gender issues, which will help us take action to change the status quo.

October 11 is not just a day; it’s a movement. A worldwide revolution.

The Day of the Girl is bigger than one issue, one organization, one country, and even the day itself. It is a yearly reflection of what we’ve done and what we need to keep doing to fully achieve gender equality everywhere.

Why a Day for Girls? Here’s a dozen reasons.
As girls, we experience inequality in every aspect of our lives. There are a billion reasons why we need the Day of the Girl, but let’s start with just a dozen (all are linked to their source):

By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population. (PDF)

Only 30% of girls in the world are enrolled in secondary school. (PDF)

Girls make up half of the high school population, but receive only 41% of all athletic participation opportunities.

Women only hold 15.7% of top leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies.

One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.

More than half (54%) of all rapes of females happen before age 18. (PDF)

1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

Children as young as age 11 are forced to work as prostitutes. Some estimates have as many as 1.2 million children being trafficked every year.

54% of 3rd-5th grade girls worry about their appearance and 37% worry about their weight.

57% of music videos feature a female portrayed exclusively as a decorative, sexual object.

Females continue to be underrepresented in top roles in film with less than 1 in 3 speaking characters in children’s movies.

These are only the tip of the iceberg! Here are some great reasons why we need Day of the Girl from young activists across the world.

Culled from: dayofthegirl