“We want to be seen as equals, in the eyes of others AND in our own eyes.”
Why a day just for girls? Because girls can save the world. And we deserve a bigger part of it.
A Dozen Reasons
As girls, we experience inequality in every aspect of our lives. There are a billion reasons why we need the Day of the Girl, but let’s start with just a dozen (all are linked to their source):
By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population. (PDF)
Only 30% of girls in the world are enrolled in secondary school. (PDF)
Girls make up half of the high school population, but receive only 41% of all athletic participation opportunities.
Women only hold 15.7% of top leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies.
One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.
More than half (54%) of all rapes of females happen before age 18. (PDF)
1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
Children as young as age 11 are forced to work as prostitutes. Some estimates have as many as 1.2 million children being trafficked every year.
54% of 3rd-5th grade girls worry about their appearance and 37% worry about their weight.
57% of music videos feature a female portrayed exclusively as a decorative, sexual object.
Females continue to be underrepresented in top roles in film with less than 1 in 3 speaking characters in children’s movies.
What facts have you found about girls and their opportunities (or lack of opportunities)? Share them with us.
Please go to dayofthegirl.org website to check out the pdf links!
