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International Women’s Day: helping girls to fulfil their potential

Girls' education, International Women's Day

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The statistics are damning and depressing.Half a billion women still cannot read and 62 million girls around the world are not in primary or secondary school.

As the latest United Nations data shows鶹APP

But girls and women in countries across the globe are working tirelessly to change that 鶹APP backed by millions of men who are also committed to ensuring equal gender rights and opportunities.

March 8 is International Women鶹APPs Day and this year鶹APPs theme is 鶹APPPlanet 50-50 by 2030鶹APP. That means ensuring equality in education, economic opportunity and human rights as laid out in the 15-year Sustainable Development Goals agreed by world leaders.

Here we鶹APPll bring you the best of education-related #IWD events, social media shares and pictures. Last year we ran a quiz about International Women鶹APPs Day 鶹APP you can still and learn more about the day and why girls are still struggling to get into school.

REWRITING THE CODE FOR GIRLS

鶹APP the campaigning charity behind A World at School 鶹APP is challenging embedded values that hold girls back by launching the #RewritingTheCode campaign.

Kenyan schoolgirl in Kibera with #RewritingTheCode poster Picture: 鶹APP/Adriane Ohanesian

Celebrities, business leaders, influencers, campaigners and youth from all over the world are supporting the #RewritingTheCode campaign with one simple social action.

Here is Laura Carmichael 鶹APP star of the hit British TV series Downtown Abbey 鶹APP tweeting her support.

Bonnie Wright, best known for playing Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, has a message for girls too.

And here鶹APPs American film-maker Steve Nguyen, who made the inspiring for A World at School last year.

CODE CLUBS FOR GIRLS

Technology can empower girls 鶹APP so 鶹APP is giving them the chance to learn vital technology skills in a safe space through an innovative pilot project.

Its Code Clubs will benefit between 600 and 700 females aged five to 24 in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal. The project will expand to three more countries later this year.

Students at the first 鶹APP Code Club in Kibera, Kenya Picture: 鶹APP/Adriane Ohanesian

Code Clubs are low-cost, sustainable and scaleable safe spaces where girls can build, learn and create through technology, creativity and coding.

Find out how the in London to mark International Women鶹APPs Day.

OPRAH LEADS STARS鶹APP CALL FOR JUSTICE

American TV host Oprah Winfey and many other celebrities have written an open letter on the eve of International Women鶹APPs Day, urging world leaders to put girls at the heart of anti-poverty efforts.

Oprah at the launch of her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa in 2014

As a new report by campaigning and advocacy organisation ONE titled revealed Niger is the toughest country to be a girl, sheasked the international community to improve girls鶹APP and women鶹APPs access to education, justice and technology and help them fight HIV and malnutrition.

Among others who signed were boxing legend Muhammad Ali singers Elton John and Bono and film stars Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron and Robert Redford.

SEARCH FOR AN #IWD2016 EVENT

Want to know what other events are being held to mark this special day? The official has the answer.

EDUCATION = INDEPENDENCE

鶹APPIn South Sudan, many parents say 鶹APPyou should get married 鶹APP don鶹APPt waste time at school.鶹APP I wanted to teach them that having an education meant independence and strength.鶹APP

Dimanche, a World Food Programme Field Monitoring Assistant, tells about her work with women traumatised by the conflict.

Click on the link above to read moreabout how she is helping to build a generation of educated women.

SHOUT IT LOUD, SHOUT IT PROUD

Sarah Brown, President of 鶹APP, is one of 16 women asked by Marie Claire magazine why we should be shouting about #IWD.

Talking about the launch of Code Clubs in Africa, Sarah says: 鶹APP鶹APPs vital that we acknowledge and change the embedded values that hold girls back whether in the heart of the UK or the most remote part of Africa or the Syrian refugee camps.鶹APP

ONE DAY I鶹APPLL BE鶹APP

The famous Google Doodle that appears on the search page is focused on International Women鶹APPs Day for March 8.

Education campaigner Malala Yousafzai delivers part of the last line of the film, which is: 鶹APPOne day we will see every girl in school.鶹APP

TOILETS MUST NOT BE TABOO

We mustn鶹APPt forget that it鶹APPs not just about getting girls into school. 鶹APPs also about making sure they stay there by providing them the facilities they need 鶹APP including safe, separate toilets and washing facilities.

Alice Namonje, 38, a teacher at Lubunda primary school in Zambia says:鶹APPGirls should not stay at home because of menstruating. We are breaking the silence, because menstruation is natural.鶹APP

UNESCO LAUNCHES EDUCATION PRIZE

The United Nations agency UNESCO has unveiled a new prize for girls鶹APP and women鶹APPs education to mark International Women鶹APPs Day.

Suppported by the Chinese government, the prize will award $50,000 each to two winning individuals, groups or organisations who make execptional contributions to educating females.

SHE IS THE ONE

#SheIsInspiration is the hashtag being used to encourage people to share their thoughts on which females are their role models.

THE WRITE STUFF

This is one of our favourite videos today 鶹APP about the power of literacy to change people鶹APPs lives.

It pays tribute to many female writers, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Mariama Ba, the Senagalese femanist who highlighted gender inequality in her work.

The video asks people to sign the Project Literacy petition, which will be presented to the United Nations on International Literacy Day in September.

SINGING FOR SUCCESS

And here鶹APPs another really powerful video released for International Women鶹APPs Day 鶹APP this time produced by and featuring a girls鶹APP choir in Uganda who sing about the empowerment which education gives to females.

Girl Power was also written by the singers, who are part of a 100-member girls鶹APP club at the secondary school. They work together to support each other through school and also spread the message of girls鶹APP education.

CALL TO CHANGE THE LAWS

and launched a global campaign on International Women鶹APPs Day 鶹APP called #LevelTheLaw 鶹APP which urges world leaders to change discriminatory laws that hold girls and women back.

Working with a range of partners on specific laws that need to be changed, the immediate priorities are:

  • Pakistan, where new laws to criminalise honour killings are on the brink of being passed
  • Tanzania, where marriage for girls is legal at age 15 with parental consent
  • Iraq, where rape against the Yazidi people needs to be considered a war crime and brought to the International Criminal Court

EVERY GIRL鶹APPS RIGHT

And here鶹APPs something to remind us exactly why every girl in the world deserves a quality education.

Around the world, 65 million girls are not in school. #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2016
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The photos were published by Huffington Post on #IWD to celebrate the day and give us a glimpse into the lives of girls across the globe.

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