International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of the Girl and the International Day of the Girl. October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl. On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

2015 Theme: The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030

Over the last 15 years, the global community has made significant progress in improving the lives of girls during early childhood. In 2015, girls in the first decade of life are more likely to enrol in primary school, receive key vaccinations, and are less likely to suffer from health and nutrition problems than were previous generations.

Points to Note

• By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population.
• Only 30% of girls in the world are enrolled in secondary school.
• Women only hold 15.7% of top leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies.
• One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.
• More than half (54%) of all rapes of females happen before age 18.
• Children as young as age 11 are forced to work as prostitutes. Some estimates have as many as 1.2 million children being trafficked every year.
• More than 50% of music videos feature a female portrayed exclusively as a decorative, sexual object.
• In most of the Indian movies (irrespective of the languages), the heroines are just used for songs and some scenes.