Equality: International Day of the Girl

Gloria Serrato

Every October 11 since 2012, the International Day of the Girl Child has been celebrated with the aim of making visible the differences that exist just because of the simple fact of being born a girl or a boy in an environment where women have lived disadvantaged compared to men.

The United Nations (UN) established this date to raise awareness of the plight women have faced since we were children, in addition to recognizing their rights, and also the implications it has for society as a whole to reduce the inequality that causes girls to be left behind in development, as well as finding ways for girls to strengthen their own vision of being girls and promote their empowerment.

According to data generated by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), there are more than 600 million adolescent girls in the world between the ages of 10 and 19 who, if empowered, can be the leaders to bring about urgent change in gender equality. the genders.

The most important aspects for girls’ development are adequate health, access to education, access to a life free of violence.

UNICEF pointed out that in terms of health, it is important for girls to achieve the necessary well-being, which facilitates their access to empowerment, therefore it begins when they have adequate nutrition, in addition to the conditions for proper management of the menstrual cycle, hygiene, eradication of the terrible practice of female mutilation, forced marriage, forced sexual relations, teenage pregnancy.

In the middle of our country, the simple fact of being born a girl puts them at a disadvantage; The violence and inequality women face begins in childhood and even before birth.

In our country, almost 700 million women were married as children, which reproduces other problems such as dropping out of school and working at an early age. As a result, many girls and adolescents find it necessary to work from a very early age in unpaid activities, to serve and care for other people, such as younger siblings, their own children. Three out of every 10 girls spend more than 28 hours a week on housework.

This data, which comes from the website of the National System for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, alerts us to the need to remember every day the importance of actions aimed at eradicating violence against women and girls, preventing girls from dropping out of school and adolescents, to prevent teenage pregnancy, promote full knowledge of their sexual and reproductive rights, promote empowerment based on the slogan that was generated for this year “Digital Generation. Our generation”.

Girls are agents of change who, by strengthening their educational training, are a major source in the transformation needed to achieve full equality between men and women, which is why they must have access to information, the Internet and digital devices that give them the opportunities to using, leading and designing risk-free technologies.

Digital literacy is part of the knowledge that should be offered to girls so that they can exercise their leadership, it is up to us as adults to support them, to accompany them, and to avoid delegating household tasks that interfere with them to attend regular school, for recreation and healthy development.

Free internet for all people has been announced in our country and with this it will certainly be possible to consolidate the focus that UNICEF is giving to prioritize digital literacy for girls with connectivity that ensures online security.

The opinions expressed here are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Astrolabio.