International Day of the Girl Child

Girls are our future.

On 11^th October, join global efforts to ensure a world free of discrimination for young women and girls for International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme focuses on adolescent girls and the Sustainable Development Goals, which set targets on gender equality to be achieved by 2030.

As a vulnerable demographic in many developing countries, adolescent girls face social, economic and political barriers. While they hold the potential to become leaders and create change, this can be hindered by factors such as unwanted pregnancy, forced early marriage, gender-based violence and limited access to higher education and reproductive health services.

Many of the producers and projects that the Fair Trade WA Oxfam Group supports are empowerment focussed organisations for women, aiming to end the inequalities in their community. The income from handicrafts produced by the artisans from YWCA in Dhaka, Bangladesh benefits women through providing a vital family income, teaching many to read and write for the first time, opening up access to subsidised health care, and creating a savings programme to offer interest free loans.