Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Today Marks International Day of Girl Child


Mon 11 Oct 2021 | 06:16 PM
Ahmed Emam

Today marks the International Day of the Girl Child, which is immensely significant in the history of humanity.

On this date every year, some Egyptian and Arab schools also took this occasion as momentum in organizing special events for students to participate in classroom activities. Such activities focus on the topic of children and social protection as well as promoting citizenship for girls without discrimination.

This year's theme is "Digital generation. Our generation” can be further explored if the entire world understands the phrase to mean "humanity cohesion".

In this regard, the United Nations Population Fund Arab States Regional Office (UNFPA ASRO) is marking International Day of the Girl Child with the launch of “In Her Words” — a collection of stories, insights, and art created by adolescent girls living in humanitarian settings throughout the Arab region. 

Under the auspices of the UNFPA Regional Humanitarian Hub for Syria and the Arab States (RHHSAS), the initiative invited adolescent girls living in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and Syria to experiment with different forms of self-expression, resulting in a remarkable array of impactful moving narratives. 

In a statement, UNFPA Arab States Regional Director, Dr. Luay Shabaneh emphasized: “The objective of ‘In Her Words’ is to build on efforts made in recent years to highlight the unique challenges and needs of adolescent girls as well as their often astounding resilience."

“Adolescent girls are not usually targeted in humanitarian programs which limits their opportunities and potential. ‘In Her Words’ gives us the opportunity to hear directly from them and to amplify their voices as they tell us about their dreams, realities, and triumphs.”

Last year, several Arab countries in the MENA region are coping with the lasting impacts of longstanding and emerging humanitarian situations.

Indeed, the Syria and Yemen crises have also passed the ten-year mark, while more recent developments in Sudan and Lebanon will result in additional disruptions in community networks, placing the lives and dignity of millions of people at risk.

Through the 'In Her Words' program, UNFPA ASRO has helped the Arab social entities to enhance the remarkable spirit, awareness, and imagination of adolescent girls even as they face the most challenging of crises.