President of Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin has said that far from being deliberately developed for the world’s leaders, the girl child still suffers under the yoke of lack, abuse, rape, trafficking, and gender bias of extreme dimensions.
In a statement to mark the International Day of the Girl-child, she said, “We must not be tired of working at the largely untapped resource of humanity’s other wing.
“The civilized world must rededicate to the girl child. No bird attains any height with one wing. The girl child is the second wing…left unused, the statement concluded.
In 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls. The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights.
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
The theme for 2022 International Day of the Girl Child “Our Time Is Now – Our Rights, Our Future.”
