Every year on October 11th, the International Day of the Girl puts the spotlight on GIRLS’ EMPOWERMENT and the fulfilment of their HUMAN RIGHTS. This year the International Day of the Girl 2020 will focus on girls’ needs and how to address the challenges they face, in particular with the COVID pandemic continuing to disproportionately impact women and girls.
Teen girls have the right to a safe, and healthy life, with quality education and opportunities to thrive during their formative years. Girls have the potential to change the world – and we’ve seen this through the leadership of young women such as Greta Thunberg, Malala and many others! Girls are today’s leaders, breaking ground and breaking boundaries as climate leaders, innovators, thinkers and influencers changing our world for future generations. Today we celebrate GIRLS globally and cheer for their spirits to soar!
The Feminist Task Force (FTF) was invited by our partners, Loretto at the UN, a member of the Working Group on Girls, to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl! On October 2nd the @FemTaskForce and @LorettoattheUN, together with the @NGOWWG partners, participated in the #11DaysofAction Tweet-a-thon, #IDG2020 #EquityForGirls #BeBold #KeepGIrlsSafe2020 focused on girls’ quality education and how girls are faring during COVID-19. #EducateGirls2020 was the rallying cry with FemTaskForce Youth Ruthie and Alana talking about girls supporting girls and how teen girls can be mentors to event younger girls.
Did you know, according to UNICEF:
Worldwide, nearly 1 in 4 girls aged 15-19 years is neither employed not in education or training compared to 1 in 10 boys of the same age. By 2021 around 43 million women and girls will be living on less than $1.90 a day — including 47 million pushed in to poverty as a result of COVID-19.
Check out the dynamic teen duo, Alana and Ruthie, on the FTF’s Facebook page and on @FemTaskForce talk about how they made lemonade from lemons after their summer teen camp counselor jobs were cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. They went from no jobs to starting their own young girls “camp,” guiding and mentoring 9-11 year old girls for weeks of play and learning in the woods in creeks, teaching them outdoor safety as well as inter-personal skills which they will carry with them throughout their lives. The families of the “Wolf Pack” camp, as the girls’ camp called themselves, self-isolated in a rural area during the pandemic and Ruthie and Alana helped the girls feel comfortable in nature and appreciate the wonders of our natural world.
Feminist Task Force 