UN Tanzania statement to mark International Day of Girl Child

Statement by

UN Resident Coordinator a.i, Jama Gulaid

International Day of the Girl Child 2013

11 October 2013 – 10:00am-Noon

Protea Courtyard Hotel – Sea View

Honourable Mathias Chikawe of Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs

Ms. Justa Mwaituka Executive Director, KIWOHEDE

Sheikh Alhad Musa Salim

Bishop Jacob Ole Paul Mameo

Ms. Valerie Msoka, Executive Director Tanzania Media Women Association.

Via video, our panelist Her Excellency Graҫa Machel.

Government Agencies, Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations, Media, and my colleagues from the United Nations family in Tanzania

Habari za Asubuhi:

Today is the International Day of the Girl Child, a day of observance across the world. The event came into existence on the 19th December 2011 when the UN General Assembly voted to designate 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child. The UN resolution A/RES/66/170 calls for empowerment, investment, and nurturing of the girl child.

I am pleased to join this distinguished panel for the commemoration of this special day in Tanzania. I am also pleased to deliver the message of the UN Secretary General for this occasion. The theme for the 2013 International Day of the Girl Child is Innovate to Educate. Allow me to share with you the statement of the Secretary General before I make a few additional observations.

And I quote:

Empowering girls, ensuring their human rights and addressing the discrimination and violence they face are essential to progress for the whole human family. One of the best ways to achieve all of these goals is to provide girls with the education they deserve. Yet too many girls in too many countries are held back simply because of their gender. Those whose mothers were also deprived of an education; those who live in a poor community; and those who have a disability face an even steeper climb. Among girls who do make it to school, many face discrimination and violence.

I launched the Global Education First Initiative to accelerate progress in getting every child into school, especially girls. We are aiming to teach more than reading and counting; we are striving to raise global citizens who can rise to the complex challenges of the 21st century.

To achieve meaningful results, we need fresh solutions to girls’ education challenges and we must heed the voices of young people.  I have heard from girls around the world participating in the consultations for the new Girl Declaration. I resolve to ensure that Global Education first mobilizes all partners to respond to their powerful call for empowerment. 

More broadly, our campaign to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and shape a vision beyond that date must address the concerns and potential of the world’s girls.

On this International Day of the Girl Child, let us work together to invest in education so that girls can advance in their personal development and contribute to our common future.

End of quote.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The International Day of the Girl Child is a day to celebrate our daughters, sisters, and grand-daughters. It is a day to review the progress we made in realizing the fundamental human rights of girls. It is a day to highlight the challenges facing the girl child notably discrimination, violence and abuse.

Child marriage, the topic of discussion of this panel today typifies one of the enormous challenges facing the girl child in Tanzania and many other parts of the world. To the members of this panel, to the leaders in Government, Civil Society Organisations, communities and households who are solving the challenges facing the girl child, I wish to convey deep gratitude. I do so on behalf of the entire UN family in Tanzania.  

Child marriage is an issue that deserves priority attention. Through meetings like this one, we can exchange views on a complex subject. Through joint efforts, we stand a better chance of tackling a problem that undermines the education of the girl child and, therefore, national investment in development.

Here is a statistic which illustrates the magnitude of the problem. Two of every five girls in Tanzania will be married before they reach their 18^th birthday if the current trend continues. That is 40% of all girls. The data reveals the girls who will be most affected. They are the poorest, the least educated, the residents of rural areas.

Child brides are vulnerable in society. They face enormous risks and obstacles in realising their full potential. At child birth, for example, the girl child has a high risk of complications or death because the body of the girl child is not fully developed. At school, the girl child is more likely to get pregnant and then drop out compared to a boy of the same age.  

The challenges facing the girl child including child marriage are not unique to Tanzania. They occur elsewhere in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Oceania. Last month, there was a story in the global media of an eight-year-old girl from a country in the Middle East who died of internal bleeding on her wedding night. This tragic story attracted considerable media attention worldwide. The big question is this - How many girls must die, how many must drop out of school, or how many must face discrimination before the world takes serious action to protect the girl child?

The United Nation System is working hard to mobilize international response to combat the threats facing the girl child. On 25 September 2013, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution focusing on child marriage. Prevention and elimination of child and early and forced marriage is the gist of this resolution.

The UN in Tanzania is collaborating with government institutions and civil society organizations to make Tanzania a better place for the girl child.  For example:

1)      the Tanzania Media Women Association, with UNFPA support, has trained 90 journalists on reporting and conducting investigative journalism on child marriage

2)      Child Protection Teams have been established to effectively manage cases of abuse with the support of UNICEF

3)      More police and judiciary are being trained to investigate cases were women and girls are the survivors, with the collaborative support of UN Women, UNICEF and UNFPA

The UN also has an Interagency Gender Group which coordinates UN assistance for the realisation of the rights of girls and women in Tanzania. The members of this group organised today’s meeting together with Graҫa Machel Trust and Children’s Dignity Forum and Tanzania Media Women Association.

Our work must continue. Furthermore, we need new ideas. We need effective strategies to make a difference. Today, we are fortunate to have such a distinguished panel of speakers. Once again, thank you panellists and thank you your Excellency Graca Michel for your leadership.  I am confident that the words of the panel members will enlighten and inspire us to do more for the girl child in Tanzania. Prevention of child marriage will protect girls and help reduce their risks of violence, early pregnancy, HIV infection, and maternal death and disability.

Asanteni sana