By Busayo Onijala
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women says girls’ activism in feminist movements
and mobilisation for equality, including “Generation Equality” are key to shaping positive, grounded action in their local communities and globally.
Bahous made this known in her message to mark the 2022 International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IDGC is annually marked on Oct. 11 to celebrate adolescent girls and today marks the 10th
anniversary of the day.
The theme for the 2022 celebration, “Our Time is Now – Our Rights, Our Future” reflects the tenacity of girls to drive change.
Bahous said in the past 10 years, she had seen girls’ interests and influence rise in global agenda and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She added that “whether in climate, education, mental wellbeing, Gender-Based Violence or sexual and reproductive health and rights,
girls are propelling themselves forward as leaders, advocates and changemakers.”
She said that while there had been progress, substantial challenges remained, noting that based on current rates of progress, UN Women estimated
that women and girls would not achieve full equality with men and boys for another 300 years.
“Education that truly equips students for the future is critical to breaking this trend, building agency, equality, voice and power for the world’s women and girls.
“SDGs 4 and 5 work hand in hand, yet poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure, violence, and fragility continue to raise barriers.
“Investment in the implementation of girls’ rights remains inadequate, contributing to short-term, siloed approaches that ultimately disadvantage adolescents,” Bahous said.
According to her, meeting these challenges in a world where the risks for girls are more acute than ever requires all stakeholders to take concerted, robust action.
She said age and gender-based data should be disaggregated to inform policies that directly impact the lives of girls.
She added that the world needed sustainable, well targeted resourcing to those most affected to ensure safe, healthy, educated and powerful adolescent girls worldwide.
Bahous urged stakeholders to continue the collective work to achieve a world where girls lived in full enjoyment of their rights and are free of violence and discrimination.
“Girls can and must lead from the front, never being left out or left behind. This decade of acceleration must prioritise girls in all their diversity. Now is their time, their
rights, their future,” she added. (NAN)
