Because Because Because I am a Girl THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S GIRLS 2007 I am I am a Girl THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S GIRLS 2007 Plan UK Plan International Headquarters 5/6 Underhill Street Christchurch Way London Woking, Surrey NW1 7HS GU21 6JG + 44 (0) 207 482 9777 + 44 (0)1483 755 155 www.plan-uk.org www.plan-international.org ISBN: 978-0-9550479-0-9 FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPH: ADAM HINTON Because I am a Girl THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S GIRLS 2007 JENNY MATTHEWS M A R K R E A D M A R K R E A D Because I am a Girl MICHELLE GILBERT ADAM HINTON ADAM HINTON ADAM HINTON Acknowledgements This report was made possible with the advice and contributions of many people and organisations. Advisory Panel Maggie Baxter – formerly of Womankind Worldwide Lesley Bulman-Lever – formerly of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts Professor Elisabeth Croll – School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK ‘I never ever understand why boys and girls are not equal Nazneen Damji – UNIFEM to each other. In rural areas elders think that girls are born Sir Richard Jolly – Institute of Development Studies. University of Sussex, UK Professor Pauline Otti – University of Jos, Nigeria (retired) and consultant at the UN to give birth and to marry and for cleaning the house. Professor Lucero Quiroga – Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Dominican Republic Gita Sahgal – Amnesty International Girls who live in rural areas… are not sent to schools. Marie Staunton – Plan (UK) Dr Anja Stuckert – Plan (Germany) Their parents are not aware of the changing world yet.’ Abiola Tilley-Gyado – Plan (Strategic Framework for Africa) Girl, 15. Turkey Input was also received from among others: UNICEF Programme Division, Population Council and in particular Kelly Hallman and Jennifer Catino, Save the Children, World Vision International, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, YWCA and the Young Lives Project. Steering Group – Plan Amanda Barnes, Simon Heap, Khairul Islam, Tiina-Marie Levamo, Hoa-Phuong Tran and Rosanna Viteri Additional Guidance Paul Bode, Plan (International Headquarters) Dr Josef Decosas, Plan (West Africa Regional Office) Dr Alice Behrandt, Plan (West Africa Regional Office) Abi Masefield, Plan (UK) Sharon Goulds, Plan (UK) Plan offices that contributed were: Plan Benin, Plan Brazil, Plan Cambodia, Plan Cameroon, Plan Dominican Republic, Plan Egypt, Plan El Salvador, Plan Guinea, Plan India, Plan Malawi, Plan Philippines, Plan Sierra Leone, M A R K R E A D Plan Sri Lanka, Plan Thailand, Plan Togo, Plan Uganda, Plan Vietnam, Plan Zambia, Plan West Africa Regional Office, and Plan Asia Regional Office. Principal Writer Nikki Van Der Gaag Project Management Feyi Rodway Research Latin America and Global: Amy Joyce Africa: Susan Wambui Mbugua Asia: Meera Butalia Europe, North America and Australasia (including Japan): Lyne Ocheing Picture research: Simone Schneider Legal Research Coordinator: Claire Mortimer, Plan (International Headquarters) Pro-Bono Research: Advocates for International Development Lisa James, Plan (UK) Special thanks to the girls and young women from across the world who contributed essays for use in the report and to the families who have agreed to be part of the cohort study. Thank you also to Professor Geraldine Van Bueren for her special contribution on discrimination. Printed by Amadeus, Italy on recycled paper ISBN: 978-0-9550479-0-9 Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is accurate at the time of going to press, Plan cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. The commentary and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the official policy of Plan UK or of Plan. Parts of this publication may be copied for use in research, advocacy and education, providing the source is acknowledged. This publication may not be reproduced for other purposes without the prior permission of Plan UK. Contents ADAM HINTON ADAM HINTON Foreword by Graça Machel ...................... 8 Section 1 Section 2 Because We are Girls Chapter 1 Table 1: 1948 – 2007: 59 Years of International Real Choices, Real Lives Survival: 100 million girls are missing ........................ 23 Legislation Specifically Addressing Girls’ Rights .... 132 Cohort Study ............................................ 10 Chapter 2 Table 2: Basic Indicators on Gender ......................... 154 Introduction .............................................. 14 Family Life: Girls spend much more time Table 3: Basic Indicators on Girls’ Education .......... 164 Legal Opinion: Governments’ on domestic, non-economic work than boys, and have less time for school and play ...................... 33 Obligations to Girls by Professor Table 4: Reproductive Health of Young Women .....174 Geraldine Van Bueren ............................. 19 Chapter 3 Table 5: Under fives weight comparison ................. 183 Education: 62 million girls are not in primary school .................................................................51 Table 6: Girls and Young Women at Work .............. 184 Chapter 4 For Further Information on Girls’ Rights .................. 188 Health: Two-thirds of 15-19 year olds newly infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are girls ..................................................................67 Chapter 5 Making a Living: Seventy per cent of the 1.5 billion people living on $1 a day or less are female .........................................................................85 Chapter 6 Girls in Exceptionally Difficult Circumstances: Nearly 50 per cent of sexual assaults worldwide are against girls aged 15 years or younger ............. 103 Chapter 7 Conclusion ......................................................................117 References ..................................................................... 122 Foreword This report ‘Because I am a Girl’ is a significant yet to achieve gender parity in primary and of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on contribution to the efforts to document secondary education. If a girl does have access the Elimination of Discrimination Against discrimination against girls and fight gender to school, she is more likely to drop out or be Women (CEDAW), both signed and ratified inequality. Even though women and girls pulled out of school by her family than her by countless governments – to promote and represent over 50 per cent of the world’s brother. Becoming a teenager, means a new protect the rights of girls. Now we must population, they occupy second-class status in host of challenges for girls. Over 80 million girls create strong national laws and implement every society. Gender inequality is pervasive in developing countries will be married before the declarations and policies we have and it begins before a girl child is even born. In their 18th birthday. Girls are infected by HIV/ established. We must hold our decision-makers every part of the world, families and societies AIDS in disproportionately high rates – three- accountable, and work to change and educate treat girls and boys differently, with girls quarters of the 15-24 year-olds infected with society and families. We can no longer hide facing greater discrimination and accessing HIV, are young women and girls. Pregnancy is behind the defence of culture or traditional fewer opportunities and little or sub-standard the leading cause of death for young women practices. We can no longer accept that girls education, health care and nutrition. aged 15 to 19. Commercial sexual work, should not be valued simply because they Whether she is born in Afghanistan or domestic work and other forms of child labour, are not boys. And, we can no longer sit idly Zambia, the life of a girl – from the womb to trafficking and other forms of exploitation – the while our girls are abused, ignored and kept childhood and then adolescence – is marred list of harmful actions faced by girls goes on. down. Some would argue that there’s much with neglect, disadvantage, and exploitation. Without gender equality none of the we don’t know; that we need more evidence The practice of female foeticide has resulted in Millennium Development Goals will be and data before we implement programmes. a gender imbalance in some parts of the world achieved. That is why this report is so valuable. There may be gaps in our knowledge, but and means that millions of girls who should be ‘Because I am a Girl’ documents the impact of we cannot let another minute go by without alive today are missing. Infant girls are less likely gender inequality on the lives of girls. It shows acting decisively and urgently. Unless we do, to survive than infant boys in some countries clearly and powerfully that our failure to make we will be condemning millions of girls to a life because of neglect. Despite consensus that an equal, more just world has resulted in the of poverty and hardship. There’s too much at female genital mutilation violates the health most intolerable of situations. In today’s world, stake – our daughters and granddaughters are and human rights of girls, the phenomenon is to discriminate on the basis of sex and gender counting on us. widespread, with at least 2 million girls at risk is morally indefensible; economically, politically of undergoing the practice every year. And and socially unsupportable. Graça Machel while access to primary education for girls is We have the legal instruments – in the President of the Foundation for Community Development expanding, many developing countries