11th October; A Day for the Girl Child

According to the United Nations website, in the year 2011, a resolution established 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child. This day is designated to promote the rights of girls and address the unique challenges they face.

What is the relevance of this day?

International Day of the Girl Child is of the utmost importance. In my opinion, life’s existence rests on the importance of this day. Eating as a phenomenon has no essence, unless it achieves its primary purpose of providing strength and vitality to the eater. So is the case of the day 11th October. Humanity cannot progress without meeting the needs of its young women and girls.

Gender advocates and many other interest groups take on the burden of the welfare of the girl child and her right to meaningful advancement. To agree with the UN, the plights and challenges hampering the progress and development of girls must be addressed.

THE GIRL CHILD CHALLENGE
According to a Plan International publication, 65 million of the world’s girls are out of the classroom. One out of five adolescent girls around the globe are denied education due to poverty, discrimination or violence.

Very glaring statistical figures show that every ten minutes, a girl somewhere in the world suffers death due to violence. Apart from infectious and parasitic diseases, violence is a leading cause of death among adolescent girls globally. Violence includes bullying, sexual assault, and female genital mutilation, to name a few.

Another future killer of the girl child is early marriage. Marriage by definition is a consenting partnership; however, most adolescent girls have been forcibly entered into this partnership.

The practice is common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEF statistics show that more than half a billion girls living today married before age 18. Out of those girls, more than one of three entered marriage before age 15.

Early marriages are not only a violation of human rights, but have very dire consequences.

THE LIFE-TIME CONSEQUENCE OF GIRL CHILD MARRIAGE
In addition to been denied childhood, the girl child who entered into early marriage frequently suffers from social isolation. On top of this, her education is truncated. They become prone to early pregnancy and are vulnerable to contracting sexual transmitted infections (STIs). Child brides are less likely to have proper medical care during pregnancy, frequently resulting in health complications and even death. These are some of the dire realities faced by child brides.

THE DAY, October 11

The day became sanctioned for the Girl Child on December 19, 2011, when the United Nation’s General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170.

Unlike any ordinary day, people should mark this day on world calendars as a topmost priority. Its relevance should be based in the immeasurable achievements (tangible and intangible) we have accomplished in previous years. The world should delight in recognizing October 11 as a significant step in the direction towards making the girls’ challenge a universal one. Recognition of this day is symbolic of the struggle and progress made throughout the year.

Stakeholders in the community should recognize the importance of fighting to liberate the girl child and afford her a level playing field with the boy child. The challenge of promoting the girl child should be integrated into the world’s culture. Culture should from every angle ensure equality and must be an avenue for development. Culture is as a way of life, and as such, should not suppress any of its subjects (boys or girls) for the benefit of the other.

Its Relevance

The girl challenge enlists us to do one thing: beyond awareness, we need to take action. This year’s theme should set precedence for celebrations in years to come. The theme, Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence, should herald other well-planned themes for the future.

Celebrating International Day of the Girl Child each year should highlight and promote a reduction in the global statistics revealing girls’ global disadvantage.

The day should raise awareness to empower the girl child through education. This, in my opinion, will serve as a springboard for holistic empowerment of the girl child. Educating the girl child means promoting personal development and empowering the girl child socio-economically. This will support women’s financial independence and power to benefit society.

In the words of the Ghanaian Scholar Kwagir Aggrey, "Educating the girl child is educating the world."

I close with the words of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon:

"On this International Day of the Girl Child, I call on all governments to take action to end all forms of violence against girls in all parts of the world. Together, we must create a world where violence against women and girls is never tolerated and girls are always empowered to reach their full potential."

by Akaho Felix Junior
dzidulajunior@gmail.com
www.felixscorner.blogspot.com