By decree of the United Nations, October 11 of 2012 will be the first International Day of the Female Child.
This achievement has been possible thanks to the support of the Government of Canada, responsible for raising the proposal to the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative has also had the support of the governments of Germany, El Salvador, Guinea Bissau and Pakistan.
The Director of PLAN, the Spanish organization that backed up the creation of this day in the international calendar, has stressed the significance of this achievement: “So far there was no day that focused specifically on the situation of girls, one of the most discriminated social groups and for which there are very few concrete policies. In many countries, girls are marginalized in all facets of their lives, from school to work. In the worst cases they are not even allowed to be born”.
Sixty two million girls do not attend school and about 140 million suffer sexual mutilation, while ten million a year are forced to marry before the age of 12. Moreover, they make up ninety per cent of all minors who work in domestic service; each year, the number of girls trafficked with is ten times higher than during the heyday of slavery.
Who wants to educate or invest in the education of a girl whose only future is, according to her parents, to marry and have children?
An international day is much more than a date in the calendar - it is a window, an open door, a spotlight that focuses, in this case, on the most vulnerable among the vulnerable. If we do not invest directly and specifically in the female child ensuring her access to health, education, protection and allowing her vital and emotional development, we will not meet six of the eight Millennium Development Goals.
In Spain, 6500 people signed the petition for the having an International Day of the Girl Child and 35 leading companies contributed to spread the message of support to girls, as well as to finance education projects for them.
Let us also contribute, from our own individual possibilities, to empower girls (and boys) so they can become the world’s redeeming force.
Sources: Fundación Luis Vives/Ameco Press/El País/epsocial
