The United Nations has designated October 11 as the Fourth International Day of the Girl Child. This year, the UN encouraged all countries to leverage the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote equality and opportunity for girls, particularly during adolescence when girls are vulnerable to forced and early marriage, violence and lack of access to secondary and higher education. The UN Secretary General stated, “[g]irls everywhere should be able to lead lives free from fear and violence. If we achieve this progress for girls, we will see advances across society.” The head of UN Women has called gender equality “critical” to the success of the new global sustainable development goals. She said governments must commit to a transformative level of financing for programs that advance women’s rights in order to meet the SDGs. Other groups highlighted the continued global challenges for girls posed by forced and child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), gender discrimination and violence.
Compiled from: On International Day, UN focuses on adolescent girls as part of 'relentless' drive towards equality for all by 2030, U.N. News Centre (October 11 2015); de Vries, Nina, Child Marriage an Issue on International Day of the Girl Child, Voice of America (October 11, 2015).