International Day of the Girl Child 2019: History, significance and theme of day that promotes empowerment of girls

International Day of the Girl Child 2019: With the aim to highlight and address the needs and challenges every girl faces, 11 October is marked as International Day of the Girl Child across the world since 2012. The significance of the day underlies in the objective to promote empowerment of girls and fulfillment of their human rights. Some of the common fields where girls around the world face inequality include access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage. History and Significance At the World Conference on Women in 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint for advancing the rights of both women and girls – was unanimously adopted. The Beijing Declaration was the first to specifically recognise girls’ rights.

On 19 December, 2011, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to acknowledge girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world, The Times of India reported. The first International Day of the Girl Child was observed on 11 October, 2012, and the theme at that time was “Ending Child Marriage”. The objective of the day is to create opportunities for girls and raise awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide. Theme of International Day of the Girl Child 2019 – GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable The theme or this year’s International Day of the Girl Child theme is: “GirlForce: Unscripted and unstoppable”, which celebrates the achievements by, with and for girls since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, News18 reported.

Some of the themes from previous years are:

2018 – With Her: A Skilled Girl Force 2017 – Empower Girls: Before, during and after crises 2016 – Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: What Counts for Girls 2015 – The Power of Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030 2014 – Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence 2013 – Innovating for girls’ education 2012 – Ending child marriage