On October 11, 2016, we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child.
At GIRLS CAN! CRATE, we believe that girls are powerful and that the best way to change the world is to empower girls. On this day, we celebrate the strides made towards social justice and greater access to opportunity, we celebrate the women trailblazers and the pioneers who have overcome tremendous obstacles to change the world in every single field and show girls what is possible, and we celebrate every single girl who makes the world better just by being in it. Our hope is that in the years to come we can achieve a world in which girls can be girls fearlessly, and free of oppression, violence, and every other thing that would hold them back from reaching their full potential.
This year, the theme for International Day of the Girl Child is "Girls' Progress = Goal's Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement," and is "a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analyzing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data." Gathering more data will ensure we are better able to address the myriad of issues that hold them back worldwide. You can learn more about the theme on the UNICEF website, the UN Women's website, Plan-International's website, or just by searching the Web for International Day of the Girl...there is loads of information out there.
Why is it important to gather data as it relates to girls? Well, with data we know where the problems are, right? We know where we are falling down and falling short. With data, we can see hard and fast the areas where we need to step in and step up our assistance. And it's pretty hard to ignore numbers. And often times those numbers will shock us into action. For instance, did you know that:
700 million women alive today were married before 18--more than 1/3 before they were 15. (Source: UN Women)
Globally, 1 in 7 adolescent girls aged 15 - 19 are currently married or in union. (Source: UNICEF global databases (2016) Global databases, based on DHS, MICS and other nationally representative surveys, 2010-2015)
Every day, over 20,000 girls under age 18 give birth in developing countries—over 7 million a year.(Source: Ibid)
Shocking, isn't it? It's hard to imagine these numbers in person because for most of us we're reading this from places like the U.S. or Canada where our girls aren't forced into child marriage. But, they do face other challenges as they relate to educational opportunities, over sexualization, human trafficking, gender discrimination in the workplace, and more. We are not immune and data gathering here is also incredibly important in combating and overcoming.
So, join us in celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child and the movement to collect data and evidence on the state of girls worldwide. Here are 3 ways you can celebrate International Day of the Girl Child today:
1) Spend some time learning more about the issues facing girls around the world HERE
2) Donate to a nonprofit working to empower girls worldwide! Some of our favorites are Days For Girls, Girls Are Not For Sale, The Malala Fund, and She's The First. What nonprofit organizations inspire you?
3) Inspire girls to BE and DO anything by introducing them to 9 fearless female role models who have changed the world. Download our FREE PAPER DOLLS featuring 9 women who have changed the world HERE.
Happy International Day of the Girl Child from all of us at GIRLS CAN! CRATE!
GIRLS CAN! CRATE is a monthly subscription box for girls 4-8 that was started to inspire girls to be and do anything by introducing fearless female role models. Together, we can show girls they can! Learn more at girlscancrate.com.