Gender Ministry, Partners Observe 8th International Day Of The Girl Child

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has observed the 8th International Day of the Girl Child with support from its partners UNDP, UNICEF, GIZ, PLAN and Samaritan's Purse.

The event brought together scores of female students from various high schools in Monrovia.

This year's program was held under the national theme: Girls Force: Breaking Boundaries and Barriers.

The colorful event engulfed with soul touching speeches geared towards highlighting the challenges of girls and finding remedial solutions to their social problems.

In his welcoming remarks, the Acting Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hassan A. Karneh provided a brief history of the International Day of Girl Child and stressed its significance.

Minister Karneh craved the indulgence of the gathering to find ways and means to bettering the lives of girls.

The program witnessed the sharing of experiences from the "Take a Girl to Work" by two participants.

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Brigadier General Geraldine J. George spoke on the importance of the day and the fervent need to support the socioeconomic empowerment of girls.

The International Day of the Girl Child was adopted on December 19, 2011, by the United Nations General Assembly, resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 of each year “the International Day of the Girl Child” and since 11th October 2012, the day has been observed Worldwide.

The observance of the International Day of the Girl Child aims at raising awareness about the challenges faced by girls across the world including domestic violence,

discrimination, child marriage and gender inequality based upon their gender.

This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage.

The celebration of the day also reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research.

Globally, there are over 1.1billion girls who are part of a large and vibrant generation ready to take on the future. However, over 62 million girls have no access to education. Girls are also vulnerable to sexual violence and other forms of violence.

The International Day of the Girl Child is observed to address all these issues and promote fulfilment of girl’s rights and girl’s empowerment.

Key among reasons for the establishment of the day is to promote girls' human rights, highlight gender inequalities that remain between girls and boys and address the various forms of discrimination and abuse suffered by girls around the world.

Every year on 11 October, the International Day of the Girl, national governments and development partners including UN Agencies work with girls to amplify their voices and stand up for their rights.

Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Working Group and the Adolescent Girls Advisory Panel have celebrated the achievements by, with and for girls since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995.

Girls have been seen moving from dreaming to achieving. More girls today are attending and completing schools, fewer are getting married or becoming mothers while still children and more are gaining the skills they need to excel in the future world of work.

Girls are breaking boundaries and barriers posed by stereotypes and exclusion, including those directed at children with disabilities and those living in marginalized communities.

To date, the Adolescent Girls Division of the Ministry of Gender has strived to ensure that national programs and policies are optimized to work better in the best interest of girls across the country.

It is against this backdrop that Gender and its partners have organized a week long activities to mark this year’s celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, which is a unique space to advance the rights and empowerment of girls.

Said activity in accordance with the theme is intended to expose the girls to non-traditional work environments by allowing them work in different positions of assignment at selected governmental and non-governmental institutions for a period of four (4) days.

A girl's summit will be held on the 24th of October 2019 to climax this year's observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. The summit will bring together 100 girls to discuss issues of progress made by girls and young women in Liberia and how girls and young women in Liberia have managed to overcome the societal barriers that hamper girls progress.

It will create the platform for girls to hear inspirational stories of girls and young women who were progressively breaking barriers and boundaries in their families, communities, schools, and professional environments.