Tomorrow, October 11th is Day
of the Girl! Cheers to the power
of girls! How will you celebrate? In
2011, the UN General Assembly declared October
11th as the International Day of the Girl Child to recognize girls’ rights and
the unique challenges girls face around the world. This year’s theme is focused on “Innovating
for Girls’ Education.” According to the
United Nations, “There is … overwhelming evidence that girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, is a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves: it is the one consistent positive determinant of practically every desired development outcome, from reductions in mortality and fertility, to poverty reduction and equitable growth, to social norm change and democratization.”
World leaders have recognized that girls are a major target group to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Goal 3 is completely dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowerment, and Goal 2 is about achieving universal primary education, with a special emphasis on girls. If you haven’t already watched it, I highly recommend you watch this quick video about the “Girl Effect.” In short, the Girl Effect is about the power of leveraging the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves, their families, their communities, their countries and the world. A great film recently came out called Girl Rising that illuminates the heart wrenching challenges girls face around the world, but highlights girl leaders who are overcoming the odds of poverty, human trafficking, and lack of education.
My
favorite nonprofit organization empowering girl leaders is Running Start, which
trains high school girls and young women to run for office. The earlier you give a girl the skills and
confidence to start her leadership, the faster she will climb the
ladder to success. Investing in young
women and girls is the most underutilized but proven strategy for breaking the
glass ceiling.
Together,
we can all work together to give girls a better shot at life. Below are some ideas of how you can empower
girls. Please share your stories of
helping girls grow and succeed!
YOU
can make a difference for girls!
- Mentor or tutor a girl
- Volunteer or donate to an organization dedicated to empowering girls such as Running Start, Ignite, Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., etc.
- Encourage a girl to share her voice and raise her hand
- Organize a Day of the Girl event next year
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