UN marks International . Day of the girl child

(Oct. 10, 2012) The United Nations is marking the International Day of the Girl Child for the first time on Thursday, 11th October. It adopted this special day last December to recognize the rights of girls and the challenges they face all over the world. For this inaugural day, the UN is focussing on the issue of child marriage. Globally, approximately 70 million girls were married before age 18. Despite a decline in the overall proportion of child brides in the last 30 years, the challenge persists, particularly in rural areas and among the poorest. If present trends continue, the number of girls who marry before their 18^th birthday, will climb towards 150 million in the next decade.
In his message for the day UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged governments, community and religious leaders, the civil society, the private sector and families, especially men and boys to promote the rights of girls. Ban said “Let us be guided by the theme of this special day- “My life, my right, end child marriage,” and let us do our part to let girls be girls, not brides. He said education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against child marriage.