As the fourth week of the university term dawns, 9am lectures after late nights at Timepiece and stuffy lecture theatres do not incite the same passion for education as our personal statements. However, this week HCX is urging you think about girls who do not have the privilege of an education. On 11th October 2012, the first International Day of the Girl will take place. After campaigning led by non-governmental organisation Plan, the United Nations has declared the day a yearly international recognition of the importance of girls’ education and accomplishments.
In a country where education is compulsory and there are few, if any, rights that are denied to girls, it is easy to become complacent about this issue. The reality is that one in three girls in the world are denied secondary school education due to violence, lack of money and discrimination. The issue could not be closer to home with the news this week that fourteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot once in the head and then the neck on her way to school in Pakistan. But her crime, as declared by the Taliban, was simply giving a voice to her beliefs. Previously awarded the first National Peace Prize of Pakistan, she had championed the oppression of girls and voiced worries over the future of their education. It is a crime against humanity that a young girl with a promising future, declared a national heroine, could have her life so ruthlessly threatened. Thankfully, she is now in a stable condition and has been placed under safe protection.
International Day of the Girl recognises the importance of the education of girls like Malala and is committed to ensuring they are provided with the support and resources they deserve. Research has illustrated just one more year in education can increase a girl’s eventual wages by 10 to 20 per cent, ensure she marries later and is likely to have fewer children who will be healthier and more likely to have an education themselves. If these results can be seen from just one extra year, imagine the positive changes from an extra five or even ten years schooling. Furthermore, the empowerment and investment in girls’ education is recognised by the UN as being critical to economic growth and thus alleviating poverty. By ensuring that girls are given back the power over their own lives, they will have the confidence and empowerment to lead their communities to a better future.
So next time you are feeling guilty about missing that 9am or your finance reading turns into Facebook surfing, please spare a few minutes to show your support for the cause. Small actions will collectively instigate big changes. By signing the petition, raising awareness or getting involved you are helping to educate a whole new generation of women and changing the lives of many girls. It’s ironic that we often complain about having to make too many important decisions regarding our own futures, when these girls have no control over their path in life. If it is the only thing you do today, please, give them a voice.
To sign the petition for girls education and information on how to become more involved, follow the link:
http://www.plan-uk.org/what-we-do/campaigns/because-i-am-a-girl/day-of-the-girl/sign-the-petition/