The International Day of the Girl Child celebrates girls’ potential while highlighting ongoing challenges, such as unequal access to education and healthcare. Empowering girls is crucial for a better future, as they can be leaders and change-makers in society.
Ensuring every girl’s right to thrive
Observed annually on October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child is a key global moment to celebrate girls everywhere, amplifying their voices, actions, and leadership.
This day belongs to everyone who cares about girls and their rights.
Today, we celebrate the incredible potential of girls around the world.
From the classroom to the boardroom, and from scientific discoveries to artistic expression, girls are leading the way and showing us that the future is bright.
However, this day also reminds us of the work still to be done. Too many girls face barriers — whether it’s access to education, healthcare, or the chance to make their voices heard.
It’s up to us to break down these obstacles and create a world where every girl has the opportunity to thrive.
In a statement, UNESCO emphasised that girls have the power to transform the world if they are given the right tools and education.
These tools include the ability to become tomorrow’s workers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, political leaders, and mothers, in addition to the empowered girls of today.
“An investment in realising the power of girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future — one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability,” the statement said.
Why girls’ rights?
Being a girl shouldn’t determine what you can do, where you can go, or who you can become. But right now, that is the reality for millions of girls across the world.
Too many are being left behind, confronted by extreme challenges that deny them their rights, restrict their choices, and limit their futures.
According to UNICEF, one in five young women aged between 20 and 24 years is married as a child today.
Additionally, it was reported that one in three adolescent girls worldwide suffers from anaemia, a form of malnutrition, and that almost one in four partnered or married adolescent girls have experienced sexual or physical violence.
Girls also account for 75 per cent of new HIV infections among adolescents worldwide.
Sadly, one in four teenage girls — nearly twice as many as boys — do not have access to any form of education, employment, or training.
The YTL Foundation’s programme director, Datuk Kathleen Chew, concurred with UNICEF’s aforementioned statement in her article in The Edge Malaysia.
According to her, one of the things that struck her when she first commissioned and read the report (the state of gender inclusion in Asia-Pacific’s regulatory landscape) was that there are 1.2 million girls in the region who are not returning to school after the pandemic, in addition to the 15 million who were already not enrolled pre-pandemic.
“When families lost their source of income during the pandemic, the societal norm was to prioritise boys over girls.
“The boys might still go to school, but the girls will stay at home and help their households in rural areas, performing labour at home. Poverty is the main issue.
“In Malaysia, we know that in rural areas, safety is a problem when schools are far away, and girls have to walk for miles to school each day and back. This is also a contributing factor to girls dropping out of school,” she explained.
The terrifying reality
In one of its pieces, Untuk Malaysia — a non-governmental organisation whose mission is to make high-quality education and an emotionally balanced support system available to all Malaysians — stated that today’s TikTok generation, especially the boys, believes that owning a motorbike, particularly a Ysuku (Yamaha Y15ZR), is all that is necessary for a happy life.
They see the Ysuku as a symbol of hope since it allows them to carry on with their lives without being forced to go to school and learn things they don’t find interesting.
If obtaining a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia certificate and going to a higher education institution don’t provide them with the means to support themselves in the future, what is wrong with working as food riders, which gives them the necessary income?
As someone born in the late 1980s, I believe this circumstance is comparable to that of today’s adolescent girls, many of whom think that becoming an “influencer” is more lucrative and exciting than attending college and pursuing advanced education.
The TikTok generation’s girls and boys undoubtedly believe that social media platforms enable them to make more money, making education seem unnecessary.
Our collective inability to engage and communicate with the TikTok generation has contributed to these unrealistic expectations.
Nobody can persuade them that attending school and receiving an education are crucial for their future. Teachers are no longer heard, and even their parents’ advice is no longer taken into consideration.
We truly need someone who can communicate with today’s youth and convince them of the value of education.
On this day, let’s stand together to support education, promote gender equality, and protect the rights of girls everywhere.
By empowering them, we not only shape their future but also the future of our global community.
Girls are the leaders, innovators, and change-makers of tomorrow. On this International Day of the Girl Child, let’s commit to ensuring that every girl can dream big and achieve even more.
