It is the day after the girl icon, Ruther Bader Ginsburg, passed away. Ever since I chose to write about International Day of the Girl, I struggled with what I wanted to say. As I sit at my kitchen table, I am feeling The Notorious RBG vibes and she has reignited the flame to knock this out of the park.
This one is dedicated to you, Ruth, and all the other little Ruths in the world who believe in the power of females.
International Day of the Girl, sounds cute right? I bet you’re having visions of girl power, RBG, as pink cat-ear hats dance in your heads, but this holiday is so much more.
On October 11th we celebrate International Day of the Girl to recognize girls’ rights and the distinctive disadvantages we as a gender are faced with all over the world. The challenges young girls are born with simply by being female is maddening. We carry a much heavier load than our gender counterparts and the explicit biases and injustices we deal with simply because we are female, is beyond is not only unfair, it’s a disservice to the world we live in.
Girls in countries all over the world are denied a proper education. Women and girls are way over 50% of the population sold into human trafficking. According to a 2018 post by Create Cultivate, “Abuse and exploitation are common. Approximately 603 million women still live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime.” And further down the road, it’s common for women to be paid less than men to do the same job.
To this, “I dissent”.
While it is important to illuminate the “Who Run the World” mentality on this day, we can’t forget it’s main purpose, and that is to promote the empowerment of little girls. They need us to advocate for their basic human rights such as body autonomy.
Here’s what you can do:
- From day one, plant the seed of body autonomy, how to use their voice, and the importance of the word no.
- Be an example of the importance of supporting other females
- Show them fierce women through reading (check out the Little People, Big Dreams series)
- Donate to the Malala Fund
- Vote to see the America we need for our kids in the upcoming election
So to all the girls out there who have felt the patriarchy privilege, who were denied basic human rights, or want to see a positive change for us in the world, today is your day. Dissent and make it yours because we are women, hear us roar.
