Our time is now—our rights, our future: International Day of the Girl Child

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the international of the girl child with the theme:

"Our time is now—our rights, our future."

Every girl has a right to live, to choose her career, to education, hygiene and healthcare.

According to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, "Now more than ever, we must renew our commitment to work together so that girls enjoy and exercise their rights and can play a full and equal part in their communities and societies. Investing in girls is investing in our common future."

This year we have celebrated girls, young women in Africa and Nigeria who became global champions because they were free to exercise their positive rights.

As we celebrate today, we would like you to ponder on these data and think of how you can support a girl child. These data are from the United Nations (UN).

Did you know?
👩‍🦰Up to 10 million girls will be at risk of child marriage. The profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are putting girls at higher risk of early marriage due to a combination of economic shocks, school closures and interruptions in reproductive health services.
👩‍🦰Almost half of primary schools in LDCs lack single-sex toilets – an important factor in girls’ attendance – and more than two thirds are without electricity.
👩‍🦰Girls are primarily victims of sexual exploitation (72% of detected girl victims), while boys are mainly subjected to forced labour (66% of detected boy victims).
👩‍🦰The global internet user gender gap is growing, from 11 per cent in 2013 to 17 per cent in 2019, and widest in the world’s least developed countries at 43 per cent.
👩‍🦰Globally, the percentage of females among Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates is below 15 per cent in over two-thirds of countries.

What actions would you take to support girls?

#internationaldayofthegirlchild #girlsrights #shadein #mcc

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