By Katie Beckmann Mahon, Communications Manager
Throughout history, advocacy and equality activists have significantly advanced women’s rights.
Women have passed laws, broken barriers, and created change.
Even with these milestones, there is still advocacy needed in 2020 to create a better world for future generations of girls.
Consider these statistics from the United Nations:
1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence. (1)
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. (1)
By 2021 around 435 million women and girls will be living on less than $1.90 a day – including 47 million pushed into poverty due to COVID-19. (1)
At least 60% of countries still discriminate against daughters’ rights to inherit land and non-land assets in either law or practice. (1)
These figures, along with many other reasons, are why days like International Day of the Girl Child matter so much.
International Day of the Girl Child, observed on October 11th, is a day to focus on the need to address the challenges girls face and promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. (1)
This year, the theme of International Day of the Girl Child is “My Voice, Our Equal Future.”Activists hope to advocate change for young girls to “Live free from gender-based violence, harmful practices, and HIV and AIDS; Learn new skills towards the futures they choose; Lead as a generation of activists accelerating social change. (1)
This year’s International Day of the Girl Child also marks a milestone for women’s rights, as 25 years ago, the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action took place. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action resulted in creating the global agenda for advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls everywhere. (1)