A Case Study to Support and Protect Girls: Plan UK26 December 2014 by Tanya Barron
The ‘glass ceiling’ is a concept with which we are all too familiar. From law and banking to politics and the media, women continue to lag behind men both in terms of the opportunities they enjoy and the pay they receive. It’s an injustice that, despite much progress, we’re still yet to overcome. This being the case even in the more ‘developed’ countries such as the UK, what situation do girls and women face in poorer parts of the world?
As CEO of the global children’s charity Plan UK, this is a question that I grapple with every day. Plan has been working to help children realise their potential for 77 years and while that commitment to every child – girl or boy – remains as strong as ever, we’ve learned that gender is one of the main factors that determine a child’s life chances.
In implementing programmes to support children in 50 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we see that where poverty exists and where a family or community’s resources are limited, boys are often given priority.
This is particularly evident in education. A poor family in South Sudan might for financial reasons have to choose between sending their son or their daughter to school and with the boy more likely to make a decent living in the future, he will probably get the chance over his sister. Sadly, that is a hard economic decision. But it’s a choice that is also linked to the social norms which dictate the girl’s future as housewife, mother and carer.
The scale of the problem is breath-taking. Taking just South Sudan, a girl is more likely to die in childbirth there than she is to complete her education. Globally, this discrimination means that 130 million girls and women are survivors of female genital mutilation, and 14 million girls a year enter marriages they didn’t choose.
Successful approaches to tackle this sort of discrimination are rooted in part in poverty reduction. That means the sort of development work with which you’ll be familiar: ensuring good health, safe drinking water and opportunities for families to earn a living, for example.
But breaking the glass ceiling for girls worldwide – changing the social norms that limit girls’ chances – isn’t that straightforward, as our experience in the UK demonstrates. Discrimination can persist even as communities’ material wealth increases. That’s why Plan’s unique approach focuses on empowering children as change-makers, giving them the ability and the confidence to identify their problems and take a lead in the decisions that affect their lives.
This means that girls – and boys – are consulted as we design our programmes and that their needs and views remain at the very heart throughout the life of a project, be that building a school, training local health workers or installing a water source.
At the core of this child-centred philosophy are human rights, which give our work an important intellectual foundation that is universal across all the contexts in which we operate. And crucially, although it sounds obvious to say, human rights are the same for girls and women as they are for men and boys. Ensuring that young people are aware of these rights is an important part of what we do.
When girls are aware of their rights, and when they have the chance to enjoy a good quality education, the effects are transformational. Healthy, happy and educated girls mean prosperous, safe and more equal communities.
It’s encouraging that in recent years and months girls’ and women’s rights have been resonating with the public. From the Everyday Sexism project in Britain to Malala Yousafzai’s campaign for girls’ education in Pakistan, we’re reminded that the battle for equality between genders is truly global – and one that we can all fight.
To find out how you can get involved contact Clare Wilkins at [email protected], or for more information please visit www.plan-uk.org/girls.
The ‘glass ceiling’ is a concept with which we are all too familiar. From law and banking to politics and the media, women continue to lag behind men both in terms of the opportunities they enjoy and the pay they receive. It’s an injustice that, despite much progress, we’re still yet to overcome. This being the case even in the more ‘developed’ countries such as the UK, what situation do girls and women face in poorer parts of the world?
As CEO of the global children’s charity Plan UK, this is a question that I grapple with every day. Plan has been working to help children realise their potential for 77 years and while that commitment to every child – girl or boy – remains as strong as ever, we’ve learned that gender is one of the main factors that determine a child’s life chances.
In implementing programmes to support children in 50 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we see that where poverty exists and where a family or community’s resources are limited, boys are often given priority.
This is particularly evident in education. A poor family in South Sudan might for financial reasons have to choose between sending their son or their daughter to school and with the boy more likely to make a decent living in the future, he will probably get the chance over his sister. Sadly, that is a hard economic decision. But it’s a choice that is also linked to the social norms which dictate the girl’s future as housewife, mother and carer.
The scale of the problem is breath-taking. Taking just South Sudan, a girl is more likely to die in childbirth there than she is to complete her education. Globally, this discrimination means that 130 million girls and women are survivors of female genital mutilation, and 14 million girls a year enter marriages they didn’t choose.
Successful approaches to tackle this sort of discrimination are rooted in part in poverty reduction. That means the sort of development work with which you’ll be familiar: ensuring good health, safe drinking water and opportunities for families to earn a living, for example.
But breaking the glass ceiling for girls worldwide – changing the social norms that limit girls’ chances – isn’t that straightforward, as our experience in the UK demonstrates. Discrimination can persist even as communities’ material wealth increases. That’s why Plan’s unique approach focuses on empowering children as change-makers, giving them the ability and the confidence to identify their problems and take a lead in the decisions that affect their lives.
This means that girls – and boys – are consulted as we design our programmes and that their needs and views remain at the very heart throughout the life of a project, be that building a school, training local health workers or installing a water source.
At the core of this child-centred philosophy are human rights, which give our work an important intellectual foundation that is universal across all the contexts in which we operate. And crucially, although it sounds obvious to say, human rights are the same for girls and women as they are for men and boys. Ensuring that young people are aware of these rights is an important part of what we do.
When girls are aware of their rights, and when they have the chance to enjoy a good quality education, the effects are transformational. Healthy, happy and educated girls mean prosperous, safe and more equal communities.
It’s encouraging that in recent years and months girls’ and women’s rights have been resonating with the public. From the Everyday Sexism project in Britain to Malala Yousafzai’s campaign for girls’ education in Pakistan, we’re reminded that the battle for equality between genders is truly global – and one that we can all fight.
To find out how you can get involved contact Clare Wilkins at [email protected], or for more information please visit www.plan-uk.org/girls.