International Day of the Girl at the UN - How Today's Girls Will Be Raising Their Voices
As the eyes of the world are on Israel and the Middle East today, and top UN officials continue to meet behind closed doors, Être girls are readying themselves to spend this Wednesday, International Day of the Girl, in the same corridors at the United Nations.
Day of the Girl 2023 is particularly meaningful for us, not only because it marks the fourth anniversary of our first book Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be, the first anniversary of our national study on girls’ confidence, and the kick-off to a highly-anticipated series of quarterly visits for middle and high-school girls at the UN, but because Être girls have already been raising their voices in this hall.
From longstanding Board members Iike Selin Ozunaldim, the youngest representative of UN Women's global gender equality HeForShe movement in Turkey, to newer Board members like Anoushka Sinha, FRSA, a UNESCO SDG4 advocate and UN Youth Advisor, Être girls are standing up and speaking out on issues that matter to the UN.
“When we see underrepresentation, we STEP UP! Especially after UNGA 78. Coming together to share the knowledge, values, and experience to enable and inspire the next generation…[I] can’t wait to see what we…do at IDG 2023 with our UN family!”
I can't wait either.
Why does honoring the day at the UN mean so much?
Because International Day of the Girl came to be when the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 in 2011, giving formal recognition to girls’ rights around the world.
Because on October 11th every year since then, groups like UNICEF, UN Women, Plan International and UN Global Compact Network USA have banded together to spotlight the unique challenges facing girls around the globe.
Challenges that seem to be growing at an unprecedented rate.
Girls today are coming of age with fewer rights than their mother held. Their fight for equal access to education may be stymied by lack of internet access, burdensome household duties, academic stereotypes, or menstrual poverty, while their view of the workforce offers glimpses of unequal pay, untenable childcare options, and boardrooms too often lacking in representation. And at the most fundamental level of rights, girls around the globe remain victim to child marriage, poor maternal healthcare, and violence.
But their resilience is unwavering.
And the UN knows it.
Stating clearly that “[a]dolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life,” the UN website assures that right “not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years,” the UN continues, “girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders.”
We know it too.
By bringing teen Être girls first to the offices of the UN Global Compact Network USA and then through the doors of the United Nations on Wednesday, the next generation will not only hear the UN’s words but will see their women in action.
Women walking the UN corridors representing their country's policies.
Women sitting in security council chambers proffering solutions.
Women speaking into microphones giving voice to girls’ needs.
They will see women in action and – just as important – women will see them.
Representation matters in all rooms, and on International Day of the Girl, the bigger the room, the better.
As we mark the day this week and follow UN activity with watchful eyes, may we all work a little harder and stretch a little further to ensure that the fundamental rights of safety, schooling and economic security are provided as guaranteed building blocks for every girl.
They’ll be standing atop them when they take the microphone next.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more ways to celebrate Day of the Girl on October 11th you won’t want to miss: Register for UNICEF’s Invest In Girls’ Rights virtual meeting here; join Plan International's global takeover Girls Get Equal here; and help celebrate Girl Up's #GirlHero Season here.
