International Day of the Girl – equality for all at work and
home
Charities are calling for support to spread girls economic and social rights across the globe
Today Thursday October 11, 2012 is the first International Day of the Girl Child.
On the day of International Day of the Girl Child today UNICEF
is focusing on ending child marriage as its main campaign issue.
UNICEF and partners are highlighting joint efforts to end
child marriage – described as “a fundamental human rights violation.”
“The International Day of the Girl Child readily reflects
the need to put girls rights at the centre of development...” said Anju Malhotra
from UNICEF.
"The UN and partners are coming
together to show the incredible progress made and to highlight the ongoing
challenges."
Under the banner My Life, My Right, End Child Marriage,
a series of events are taking place throughout the world to draw
attention to this issue.
In partnership with other agencies UNICEF also says it is laying
the groundwork to end child marriage globally with a number of programmes.
The charity points to India, traditionally a country with one
of the largest number of girls being married before their 18th birthday, where child
marriage is declining.
"Child marriage can often result in ending a girl’s
education. In communities where the practice is prevalent, marrying a girl as a
child is part of a cluster of social norms and attitudes that reflect the low
value accorded to the human rights of girls," says Ms Malhotra.
A key part of International Day of the Girl is to promote education,
one of the most effective strategies to protect children against marriage and
promote economic and social opportunities for women.
Guy Ryder, of the UN’s International Labour
Organisation (ILO), also welcomed the special focus on gender inequality today which
the ILO says is reproduced in the world of work.
"Practices such as child labour and child marriage – the
theme of this day – are a denial of the rights of children and an acute
constraint to their full development.
"Such practices also weigh heavily on the
overall capacity of societies to achieve their development objectives."
Interested in other organisations supporting women's rights on a global stage? Check out our growing database of international women's charities championing girl and women power all over the world.
