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Spread awareness to empower adolescent girls this International Day of the Girl Child 2022

International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every year on October 11 to empower girls all around the globe. It acknowledges the importance, power, and potential of adolescent girls to encourage more opportunities for them.

Spread Awareness to Empower adolescent girls this International Day of the Girl Child 2022
Spread Awareness to Empower adolescent girls this International Day of the Girl Child 2022
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Published : Oct 11, 2022, 12:01 AM IST

Updated : Oct 11, 2022, 11:14 AM IST

Hyderabad: International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every year on October 11 to empower girls all around the globe. It acknowledges the importance, power, and potential of adolescent girls to encourage more opportunities for them. The day also holds significance because it addresses the gender-based challenges that young girls face around the world. Including child marriage, discrimination, and violence. On 19 December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize the rights of girls and the unique challenges faced by girls worldwide.

International Day of the Girl Child was first proclaimed in 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing. It was the first event to identify the need to address the problems faced by adolescent girls worldwide. The International Day of the Girl Child began as a part of a non-governmental, international organization plan. The campaign was designed to promote girls' rights and help them get out of poverty, especially in developing countries.

The day focuses on the need to address the challenges faced by girls and promote the empowerment of girls and the fulfillment of their human rights. Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical early years but as they mature into women. If they are effectively supported during adolescence, girls have the potential to change the world. Recognizing the power of adolescent girls today upholds their rights and promises an equitable and prosperous future, where half of humanity is an equal partner in climate change, political conflict, economic development, disease prevention, and problem-solving.

Also read: World Mental Health Day 2022

More than 96% of people trafficked for sexual exploitation are girls and women. Empowering women and girls and promoting gender equality are critical to accelerating sustainable development. Eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right but also has a multiplier effect in all other development sectors.

Some statistics:

  • Child marriage: Around 33,000 girls are married off at a young age worldwide every day. More than 3 million girls and young women are currently living with HIV worldwide.
  • Domestic Violence: About 44 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 years feel that it is a husband's right to beat his wife.
  • Bonded Child Labour: From the age of five to 14, girls work more than boys. They spend more than 28 hours in labor, twice as much as boys.
  • Human Trafficking: 96 percent of girls and women are sexually abused in human trafficking.

Even in these circumstances, Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, Kalpana Chawla, Kiran Bedi, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom, and the current Indian women's cricket captain of Rajasthan, Mithali Raj are some of the names that have made India proud. In sports, art, corporate sectors, and the army, there is hardly any field left where girls do not dominate.

Last Updated : Oct 11, 2022, 11:14 AM IST

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