International Day of the Girl Child

There is an urgent need to recognise their rights and the extraordinary
challenges they face all over the world

The day was established in 2012 to draw attention to the human rights of girls, which are too often violated, and the discrimination millions of them face every day. The aim of the day is to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, particularly through education. But for them not only the right to study is always at risk, often the right to life is also at risk because their souls and bodies are oppressed.

HOW FAR WE STILL HAVE TO GO TO REACH THE GOALS OF THE 2030 AGENDA!

….there are still millions of girls who cannot go to school and, in at least 20 states of the world, a girl from a poor family living in a rural area has little chance of completing upper secondary education. Poverty is indeed the enemy of education, but especially of girls’ education. Especially in developing countries millions of girls are still victims of violence, are forced to marry and become mothers too early.

The WeWorld Index, published annually by the Italian NGO WeWorld, assesses globally the level of inclusion and exclusion of women, girls and children. The Index is made up of 30 indicators that can be grouped into 15 dimensions, which refer to 4 fundamental areas for the implementation of women’s, girls’ and children’s rights: health, education, economy and society, plus the environmental and cultural context, which is a determining factor in the quality of life of these two social groups.

Photo: www.weworld.it/

AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD REALITY WE HAVE BEEN IN THE FRONT ROW FOR… CENTURIES ALONGSIDE GIRLS!

On an international level, today we improve the lives of children and girls, thanks also to the work of the Good Shepherd International Foundation, the NGO of our Congregation, which supports sisters, partners and local populations in many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.