Worldwide girls are discriminated and don’t have as good chances as boys have. Girls face double discrimination because of their age and gender.
In our European reality we talk about lower salary for women in jobs but in other countries, especially developing countries but not only, girls or women are not even allowed to go to school. There are 62 million girls who should be in school but are not.
We think in our century this is not up-to-date anymore, nowadays women are entitled to have equal rights, that for we as women have to fight for our rights not only in our country but also in other countries which are some steps back in terms of gender equality.
As well we have to spread the spirit of gender equality in these countries in order to get women aware of what they actually can reach and to create a will in their mind to change something. We have to insist in helping women reaching more power than they already have.
The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 Goals set by the United Nations in order to transform our world. It is Goal number 5 of the 17 Development Goals which is about gender equality in order to empower all women and girls. Furthermore it is about providing girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes. With this in mind, the theme for this year’s international day of the girl is “Girl’s Progress = Goals Progress: What counts for girls”. While we can applaud the ambition and potential of the Sustainable Development Goals for girls and recognize how girls’ progress is good not only for girls, but also for families, communities and society at large, we must also take this opportunity to make clear that there is still a lot that needs to change.
Much more can and needs to be done to lower inequalities for girls so it is really important to have an international day of the girl not only to make people reflect about this topic but also to spread the importance of the empowerment of girls all over the world.
All over the world there still exist a lot of inequalities for women especially when it comes to education. Girls do not have the same possibilities to enter primary school as boys.
There are still 31 million girls of primary school age out of school. Of these 17 million are expected never to enter school. There are 4 million fewer boys than girls out of school. Slow education progress for children today will have lifelong effects: Almost a quarter of young women aged 15 - 24 today (116 million) in developing countries have never completed primary school and so lack skills for work. Young women make up 58% of those not completing primary school. Furthermore two thirds of the analphabets in the world are female.
Education is the key to make a long-lasting change because it brings a lot of advantages in many different domains.
Educated women are more likely to find work. To earn their own money is an important step towards independence. It is important that women are independent from their husbands to be able to build their own life.
Furthermore education keeps hunger away. Mothers’ education improves children’s nutrition. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than a third of global child deaths. Educated mothers are more likely to ensure that their children receive the best nutrients to help them prevent or fight off ill health, know more about appropriate health and hygiene practices, and have more power in the home to make sure children’s nutrition needs are met.
Education of girls can also prevent child marriages. Child marriage usually means the end for girl’s education, vocation and her right to make life choices. Research confirms that girls who marry in childhood are at greater risk for intimate partner violence than girls of the same age who marry later. 39,000 girls are married before they turn 18, and this needs to change.
Education is a basic human right and it should be available for every single person for both boys and girls! Education will also help to inform young girls about the rights they have so they get to know about the inequalities and can stand up for their rights. No-one should accept the current situation!
Maybe you have heard about the brave young girl Malala Yousafzai. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won, becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala is a Children’s and Women’s Rights Activist who was born in Pakistan. As a child, she became an advocate for girls' education, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was traveling home from school. She survived, and has continued to speak out on the importance of education.
as you can see Malala is a really tough brave young women who stands up for her rights and with this she is a role model for a lot of young girls suffering from inequality!
Malala used every media she could reach to talk about the inequality the Taliban brought to her home town. She held speeches, became a blogger for BBC using a fake identity and she also talked on the radio. Furthermore she just continued going to school even if the Taliban has forbidden this in her hometown. That’s why the Taliban started looking for her in order to kill her.
If you want to learn more about this impressing girl Malala Yousafzai, you can not only read her book called “I am Malala” but you can also watch the movie “He named me Malala”!
Make life better for girls and you make life better for everyone, says the UN.