Today is October 11th and it is has been declared International Day of the Girl Child. So, what does this really mean? It is a day to focus on building a better world for everyone, including the 1.1 billion girls in the world who often are at a disadvantage due to discrimination, violence, and lack of equal opportunity.
Here's some facts that I gathered from a few sites:
- 31 million school-aged girls do not have the opportunity to go to elementary school.
- About 35 percent of women across the wold have incountered physical or sexual violence
- One in three girls in developing countries get married before they turn 18
- More than 90 percent of teenage girls said they wish they could alter the way they looked
- Only 4 percent of the top US companies have women as their chief executive officer
The gathering of data, anallyzing it and the implementation of programs to affect change is the focus for Day of the Girl. Each year this international observance day has a theme. The first Day of the Girl was in 2012 and it focused on "Ending Child Marriage", the second year was "Innovating for Girl's Educations", in 2014 it was "Empowering Adolesenct Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence", last year the theme was "The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030". I share these past themes so that you can look them up if you would like to learn more.
Today, I would like to draw your attention to our products that specifically address and fight the gendercide issue that women and girls face in India. Here are some facts gathered from various reputable sites such as the Indian Census, United Nations, and Unicef.
- For every 1000 boys in India, there are only 914 girls.
- 50 million girls and women are missing from India's population, due to gendercide
- 1 in 4 girls in India do not live past puberty
- 47% of girls in India marry before the age of 18
- 1 in 5 women are a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime
Today and every day can be the Day of the Girl when you cast your vote for social justice by purchasing the products made by our women artisans in India. These fair trade products are new to the website today. You can click on the pictures if you want to look at the scarves in more detail. Enjoy and Happy International Day of the Girl!
Would you like to shop for more Fair Trade gifts made by women? Here is the link where you can surf, shop, and empower girls.