11TH October; A Day for the Girl Child

According to the United Nations website, in the year 2011, a resolution established 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child. As captured, it’s designated for the promotion of the rights of girls and addressing the unique challenges they face.

How relevant is this day?
 

Life’s existence is premised on its importance; otherwise it’s not worthy to be lived.  Eating as a phenomenon comes with no essence, unless it achieves a core mandate of providing strength and vitality to the eater. So is the case of the day, 11^th October.

To agree with the UN, gender advocates and many other interest groups, whose burden is the welfare of the girl child; the right of the girl like any other person deserves a meaningful promotion, with their plights and challenges; that are very overt recipes hampering their progress and development heeded to.

THE GIRL CHILD CHALLENGE

According to a Plan International publication, 65 million of the world’s girls are out of the classroom. One out of five adolescent girls around the globe due to the realities of poverty, discrimination or violence is denied education.

Very glaring statistical figures show that, at a ten minutes interval; a girl somewhere the globe suffers a death due to violence. Apart from infectious and parasitic diseases; violence appears a leading cause of death among adolescent girls globally. And by violence, we are considering bullying, sexual violence, the very inhumane cultural practice; female genital mutilation…and others.

Another future killer of the girl child is early marriage.  Marriage by definition is a consented partnership; however, most adolescent girls have entered this partnership forcibly.

The practice is common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Statistics available to UNICEF stipulates that, more than half a billion of girls living today married before age of 18; out of which,  more than one of three entered before age 15.

Early marriages are not only a human right violation, but have very dire consequence to be suffered.

THE LIFE-TIME CONSEQUENCE OF GIRL CHILD MARRIAGE

In addition to been denied childhood, the girl child stands to suffer a problem of social isolation. They on top of this suffer a truncation in their education.

They become prone to the challenges of early pregnancy and are very much vulnerable to contract sexual transmissible infections.

Child brides are less likely to have a proper medical during pregnancy. The adverse effect in the end might be death.

These are the dire realities, and not a fad to heighten the need for the protection of the child.

THE DAY, October 11

The day as aforementioned, became a sanctioned day for the Girl Child On December 19, 2011. Its power of effect is a United Nation’s General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170.

Unlike any ordinary day, it should at our individual levels be seen a topmost priority the world’s calendars. Its relevance should be premised on the immeasurable achievements (tangible and intangible) achieved in the years under review.

The stakeholder community should take much relevance in fighting to liberate and afford the girl child a level playing field like the boy child.

The World’s delight should be that, October, 11 all year round; a significant and a measurable step is taken towards making the girls’ challenge, a universal one.

The struggle should be cultural integrative. Culture should from every angle ensure equality and must be an avenue for development. Seen as a way of life, culture should not detriment any of its subjects (Boys and girls) for the sheer benefit of the other

It’s Relevance

The girl challenge enlisted points us to one thing; beyond awareness, we need to be reactive. This year’s theme should have a shadow effect on subsequent celebrations years to come. The theme; Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence, should herald a subset of other well thought through themes of the future.

Celebrating the day each year should be a seen reduction in the global statistics in favour of the struggle. 

Our awareness of the day should be to empower the girl child with education. This, in my opinion will serve a spring board purpose.

Education for the girl child is empowering them holistically. In the words of the Ghanaian Scholar, Kwegir Aggrey …educating the girl child is educating the world.

  

If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (World).  Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey (1875-1927), one of this century's greatest educators.

To better understand this, let’s understand his used of “the world” as meaning personal development. In other words, educating the world by educating the girl child means; empowering the girl child socio-economically (financial, independence, power, etc.).  

I close re-echoing the view of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon;

 "On this International Day of the Girl Child, I call on all governments to take action to end all forms of violence against girls in all parts of the world. Together, we must create a world where violence against women and girls is never tolerated and girls are always empowered to reach their full potential. "

Writer: Akaho Felix Junior
dzidulajunior@gmail.com
blogger: www.felixscorner.blogspot.com