Celebrating 10 Years of
International Day of the Girl
This year, October 11 marked the 10th International Day of the Girl. This important anniversary was a chance to reflect on the unique challenges girls face across the globe, and the enormous potential they have to bring about change.
In honour of this special occasion, Witchery proudly supported Future Women and Plan International Australia with a breakfast event that brought together over 200 guests on Naarm (Sheraton Hotel Melbourne).
We heard from an inspiring panel who talked about the moments that shaped them, what made them into the who they are today and the next generation who inspire them now.
10% of every ticket sold was donated to Plan International Australia.
The Inspiring Speakers
Jamila Rizvi
Sought after speaker, best-selling author, podcast presenter, gender equality advocate and Plan International Australia Ambassador.
Clare Bowditch
Best-selling musician, Logie nominated actor, and author. Together Clare and Jamila founded the popular event series Tea with Jam and Clare.
Darcy Vescio
Carlton AFLW player, two-time AFLW leading goalkicker, two-time All-Australian and 2021 Carlton’s Best and Fairest. As an openly non-binary athlete, Darcy understands they have a unique platform as a marquee player with Carlton to be a trailblazer across gender diversity and equality and LGBTQIA+ discussions.
Elly Desmarchelier
A proud disabled, queer woman and national disability rights campaigner. Elly is determined to create change for the 1 in 5 Australians with disability and believes that is only possible if people with disability have a seat at the table where decisions and discussions are made that impact their lives.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
A passionate environmentalist, community campaigner, feminist and mum who was the youngest woman elected to federal parliament at the age of 25. Sarah has been a champion for gender equality, ensuring female voices are at the centre of discussions around the environment, human rights and the fair treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
April Hélène-Horton
Writer, public speaker, actor and model, April is all about fat joy – a passionate advocate for intersectional experiences. In 2022, her mission is to continue bringing conversations about authentic diversity, inclusion and privilege to everyday life.
Susanne Legena
CEO of Plan International Australia
Can you tell us about your role as CEO of Plan International?
I was appointed as CEO in 2018 but my journey at Plan International actually started with an executive management role in the Advocacy and Community Engagement team. It was an interesting transition. People think they already know you and everything you do – so you have to reset all your relationships, manage your colleagues and friends. But I think my vulnerability is my strength, I don’t know all the answers or profess to.
Part of my job as a leader isn’t to just highlight problems, but to convince and compel people to imagine what the world could look like if it were more equal and sustainable.
My two motivations are love and fury. I am in awe at the beauty, creativity, resilience and good in humanity. I get furious at injustice, corruption, war, greed, disrespect and waste. Fury fires my engine but it is love that moves my heart to want to work for positive change.
Tell us about International Day of The Girl and how it came about?
As the charity for girls’ equality, Plan International played a significant role in the United Nations introduction of International Day of the Girl in 2011 – the day was born from our campaign to see girls on the global agenda.
This year we are actually celebrating the 10th anniversary of International Day of the Girl. We have released research that looks at what has happened for girls rights over that ten year period.
The good news is the visibility of the issues is up and that girls are leading the charge for change themselves. There have been improvements in education, child mortality and legal protections for certain forms of abuse and harmful cultural practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation. But the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, conflict and harmful gender stereotypes and misogyny is also profoundly setting back girls’ rights around the world. A reminder of the importance of our work.
Why is International Day of The Girl so important?
International Day of the Girl allows us to amplify girls’ rights and voices. Right now, there are more than half a billion adolescent girls living on our planet and all of them, at some point in their lives, will be disproportionately affected by gender inequality.
12 million girls are forced to marry as children every year. Every 10 minutes, one adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. More than 130 million girls around the globe are not in school.
‘Equal Power Now’, a report we launched last week, surveyed 29,000 girls and women aged 15-24, from 29 countries including Australia. The research found that girls and women continue to face significant barriers when taking part in political activities and feel poorly represented by the politicians elected to serve them.
Gender inequality is pervasive across all facets of our society. That’s why International Day of the Girl is so important. It’s critical that girls and young women’s voices are heard. Critical as a right, critical to shaping the policies and decisions that shape their lives, and critical to achieving gender equality.
How has the way girl’s need supporting changed over time?
We know from our research that girls want to contribute to their countries and communities and we need to champion their rights.
We believe young people are the experts of their own experience and their voices and ideas play an essential role in shaping Plan International’s work, from informing our campaign and advocacy asks, to guiding our program activities and our emergency response plans during crises.
We’re focused on working together so that girls and young people not only have a seat at the decision-making table but that their participation translates into significant improvements to their daily lives and opportunities.
Girls want to be involved in making the world a better place and the world certainly needs their energy and their insights to achieve sustainable change.
“When girls are supported to speak up, know their rights and lead, their entire family and community benefits – and they can create a better, more equal world for everyone.”
What are conversations we need to be having with young girls in our lives?
Gender inequality knows no borders and is not restricted to particular cultures or religions. It is everywhere – sometimes visibly, but often in ways that are difficult to see. So the central universal starting point is for us to be supporting girls to be educated.
We know that education is key to unlocking potential, and when girls are able to complete secondary education or equivalent, they are more likely to have control over their income, to marry later, and have a healthier family. And they’ll go on to educate their families and their communities.
Conversations with boys are critical too. Boys play an important role in achieving equality for girls. Poverty and lack of opportunity for young men can lead to violence in the home later in life, as can attitudes that view women as less than men. Shifting these attitudes, by including boys in our conversations (and programs) tackling gender inequality, is fundamental to creating an environment where girls are valued and recognised as equals.
How can we help? What’s a good first step when it all feels overwhelming?
A good first step is to listen. Listen to what girls and young people are saying in your life and in the media. Learn about their experiences, their ideas and the challenges they face in their daily lives. What issues affect them? What are they concerned about? What do they care about? Young people have important perspectives to share.
And when comfortable, advocacy helps. Speaking up individually when you see inequality, or lending your voice to broader campaigns. Plan International Australia campaigns and advocates to address the systemic causes of poverty and discrimination in the world, which we know disproportionally effects girls.
And of course, donating to the cause has real direct benefits for marginalised girls and their communities. There's a variety of ways to donate, from sponsoring a girl to joining up as a Change for Girls supporter. If you are a staff member or a leader working in a company that is committed to gender equality or wants to begin that journey, you could explore a corporate partnership with Plan International as another way to create impact.
Can one person make a difference?
Subeta Vimalarajah was a student at the University of Sydney when she launched an online petition to remove the goods and services tax (GST) on tampons and sanitary pad. It gathered over 100,000 signatures and her activism, alongside the long-standing campaigning of organisations such as Share the Dignity, helped hold decision-makers to account and led to the ‘tampon tax’ being scrapped in October 2018.
Chanel Contos was also a student in 2021 when she launched the online platform Teach Us Consent, which collected more than 6,600 stories of sexual assault.
She also launched an online petition calling on Education Ministers to adopt the new Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) curriculum and to go beyond this, to provide more holistic consent education covering “rape culture, grooming, sexual coercion, slut shaming, toxic masculinity, queer sex education, enthusiastic consent, and porn literacy.”
In February 2022, as a result of Chanel’s activism, Education Ministers around Australia agreed to mandate age-appropriate consent and respectful relationships education in schools.
So yes, one person can absolutely make a difference. And one person can also contribute to change, even if they’re not the one leading it. To get 100,000 signatures on a petition, 100,000 people have to sign it. Every person and every action counts when it comes to movements for change.
What’s Plan International Australia’s biggest challenge?
While we have been celebrating the wins of the past 10 years today on International Day of the Girl, we cannot ignore the fact that movement in the opposite direction has occurred too. The convergence of COVID-19, conflicts and climate change has caused huge setbacks for gender equality.
We know that girls are affected most in times of food insecurity, and right now, the world is in the grip of the most devastating hunger crisis ever seen, with a famine warning for Somalia issued just last month. Women and girls account for 70% of the world’s hungry and when food runs low, they are fed last, taken out of school and sometimes forced into child marriage simply so their families can survive.
Plan International is responding in some of the worst affected countries, rapidly scaling up programs and providing life-saving food, emergency cash transfers, and child protection to children and families enduring extreme hunger.
What’s coming up for Plan International?
At Plan International we have an unwavering commitment to creating a brighter world for children and a bold vision for the future of girls and young women. We strive to make girls truly visible: acknowledging their power and potential, and taking a stand when they are exploited, discriminated against and silenced.
Over the next five years, our focus will be on continuing all of the important work we already do, guided by our new global ambition to positively impact the lives of 200 million girls and those around them with the help of our wonderful supporters and partners.
When girls are supported to speak up, know their rights and lead, their entire family and community benefits – and they can create a better, more equal world for everyone.