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INVESTING IN OUR TEENAGE GIRLS

Jul 22, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

On Monday July 11, 2016, many countries around the world, including Guyana, celebrated World Population Day. It is an annual event that is observed on that same date. It seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. Inspired by the July 11, 1987 movement when the population of the world reached five billion, World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989. Today, the world’s population is estimated to be over seven billion.
The day is also celebrated by individuals, business groups and community organizations. Its goal is to encourage activities and events, including seminar discussions and educational information sessions throughout the world, to help increase people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and equity and human rights, among others.This year’s theme is “Investing in teenage girls.”
Recently, members of the global community committed to a new sustainable development agenda built on the principles of equity and human rights. A central objective of this development initiative is to leave no one behind.
Despite the significant gains made in reducing poverty and improving the living standards of people around the world, especially those in the underdeveloped regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America, hundreds of millions remain poor and are desperate for a chance of a better future. Among those least served by previous development initiatives are girls, particularly those in their formative teenage years.
In Guyana, many teenage girls face enormous challenges daily and coping seems difficult. In some cultures, teenage girls who reach puberty are considered by their communities or parents to be ready for marriage and motherhood. Some may suffer debilitating health conditions due to childbirth because their bodies are not ready for it. They may be denied their rights and are forced to leave school. Those who remain in school have a difficult time to access basic information about their health, particularly their reproductive systems, thus leaving them vulnerable to illness, injury and exploitation. These challenges are exacerbated among those living in poverty or in remote areas of the country.
The teenage years for most girls are supposed to be a time of exploration, but many seem to be vulnerable and are faced with discrimination. Just when teenage girls should be in school and imagining the possibilities ahead, many are held back from pursuing their ambitions by social and cultural traps.
While a boy’s options and opportunities tend to expand when he becomes an adolescent, those of a girl often shrink. Half of all sexual assaults in Guyana are committed against girls aged 15 years or younger. In certain parts of the country, one in three girls is married before she reaches 18, and they are less likely than teenage boys to start or finish secondary school.
Correcting these inequalities is critical for the government, which should encourage businesses and civil society to support and invest in teenage girls in order for them to have dignified lives.
The government needs to invest in teenage girls in ways that would empower them to make important life decisions, equip them to earn a living, engage in the affairs of their communities and to be on an equal footing with their male counterparts. It must protect their health, where possible, and enable them to receive a quality education in order to improve their economic well-being.
Teenage girls whose rights are respected and who are able to realize their full potential are more likely to become agents of positive change and will significantly contribute to the economic and social progress of their communities and the country. But when they have no say in decisions about their education, health, work, or even marital status, they may never realize that potential or become positive forces for transformation in the home, community and nation.
We must invest in our teenage girls.

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