“Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being”

Guyana joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Day of the Girl Child, which is observed today, themed “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being”.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in his message said that halfway to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, the world is failing girls.
To quote Guterres: “On current trends, the end of child marriage is 300 years away. If nothing changes, by 2030, 110 million young women and girls who should be in classrooms, won’t be. And 340 million women and girls will still endure the grinding hardships of extreme poverty. Old forms of discrimination against girls continue and in some cases are getting worse. Girls in Afghanistan are unable to exercise their most basic rights and freedoms, confined to their homes with no hope of education or economic independence.”
According to the UN: This year, at a time when we are seeing a range of movements and actions to curtail girls’ and women’s rights and roll back progress on gender equality, we see particularly harsh impacts on girls. From maternal health care and parenting support for adolescent mothers, to digital and life skills training; from comprehensive sexuality education to survivor support services and violence prevention programmes; there is an urgent need for increased attention and resourcing for the key areas that enable girls to realise their rights and achieve their full potential.
It is no secret that vulnerable women worldwide, including those in Guyana, continue to face unacceptable levels of violence in various forms. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly from an intimate partner.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further contributed to increasing risks of violence, particularly domestic violence, against women. The UN pointed to reports from countries around the world which suggest that restrictions in movement, social isolation, coupled with increased social and economic pressures, are leading to an increase in violence in the home.
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed had detailed the many problems women were faced with during lockdown, and made recommendations in relation to various forms of support Governments and other partners could provide to ensure women were able to confront these challenges.
According to SG Mohammed, school closures further worsened this burden and placed more stress on women. The disruption of livelihoods and their ability to earn a living – especially for those women who are informal wage workers – decreased access to basic needs and services. This situation increased stress on families, with the potential to intensify conflict and violence.
Violence against women, girls and children has tremendous costs to communities, and can remain with women and children for a lifetime. If not dealt with effectively, it can also be passed from one generation to another. Over the years, the UN has been pushing countries towards implementing proactive measures to combat domestic violence and discrimination against women and girls.
These measures have included criminalising gender-based violence, massive public awareness campaigns and providing training to equip both men and women to act as first responders, and to support victims of the scourge at the community level.
Every year, between November 25 and December 10 – 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence – Guyana joins the WHO and other partners to raise awareness about the global need to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.
As stated by SG Guterres, despite new forms of bias and inequality that are emerging, girls are fighting back – confronting sexism, combating stereotypes and creating change, on football pitches, in schools, and in the public square.
His proposal of an SDG Stimulus to get the Goals on track is gaining traction.
We support the call by the UN, that “women and girls can lead us to a fairer future. On this International Day of the Girl Child, let us amplify girls’ voices, and recommit to working together to build a world where every girl can lead and thrive.”
We must stand with them!