Girls can face discrimination before they are born. There are about 100 million girls and women missing because of the practice of female foeticide in some countries.
Commemorative days are an important tool for communities to come together, raise difficult issues and ask governments and societies to make changes to improve lives.
Recognising girls as a distinct group in society -- separate from women and children -- is important if we are to address the unique, urgent challenges they face.
Girls have been explicitly mentioned in annual themes just 3 times for International Womenʼs Day in the past 100 years.
Girls are facing a series of unique and urgent challenges that require specific attention if we are to harness the remarkable potential of girls to create a better life for themselves.
When girls can claim their right to health, education and full participation in society, they become a powerful force for economic development and positive change.
When girls can claim their right to health, education and full participation in society, they become a powerful force for economic development and positive change.
An International Day of the Girl will be a powerful way to highlight the particular needs and rights of girls, and to advocate for greater action and investment.
Girl power
December 2011: Plan is fully behind the drive to make October 11 the International Day of the Girl Child. On Monday, 19 December, the resolution to adopt the Day of the Girl will go before the full Assembly of the United Nations to be voted on. The final vote comes after
extensive campaigning by Plan around the world, with a little help from our friends.
The call was first raised by girls themselves at a UN gender summit in 2009 as a crucial recognition of their rights. Since then, girls have lobbied for this day, with the support and guidance of Plan.
Governments across the globe have stepped up to support the campaign with the Canadian government leading the resolution at the UN and more than 100 member nations pledging their support.
The resolution was adopted by consensus at the Third Committee of the General Assembly and will now go to the full Assembly for adoption.
Get involved
Making 11 October the Day of the Girl would not be possible without the continued support of our friends around the world. In the lead up to Monday, we’re calling on everyone to take to social media and raise their voices to spread the word about the Day of the Girl. You can make a difference.
On Twitter, Plan is using the hashtag #
dayofthegirl* to get the message out there and to invite people to offer thoughts about what the Day of the Girl means to them. Why does gender equality matter and whose responsibility is it to push this agenda? How can we better empower girls to take control of their lives and make a difference in their communities?
On 20 December from 1 to 3 pm GMT, we will also be holding a Tweetjam. We’ll be using Twitter to have a fast-paced conversation around gender and the Day of the Girl. A panel of gender specialists from Plan (featuring @
keshetbachan and @
adamvink) will be on hand to take part in the discussions. Anyone can pose a question and anyone can answer using the hashtag #
genderjam*.
We’re also spreading the word through Google+ using the hashtag #
dayofthegirl*.
The UN meeting is taking place on 19 December from 10 am to 1 pm EST. Follow the hashtags to stay up to date on all the latest news and be the first to hear whether the Day of the Girl is officially adopted.
* Plan is not responsible for the content of external sites.
