Youth Speak Out!

UN Commission on the Status of Women to Focus on Girls[1]

Girls—their rights and their concerns—will be the focus of the 2007 meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)  The Commission will meet from 26 February to 9 March, 2007, to determine exactly what governments and citizens can do to end all forms of violence and discrimination against the girl child. 

 For two weeks member governments of the UN and the global community will have the opportunity to focus their attention on the needs and concerns of girls. They will review the research and findings of UN agencies, consider recommendations from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and, most especially, listen to girls themselves. YOU CAN BE A PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. 

Our Dreams…

We all have dreams—The Working Group on Girls (WGG) , UNICEF , the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)  and UNANIMA International dream of the day when the rights of the girl child are protected, when each girl is guaranteed an education, when the health needs of the girl child are recognized, when zones of peace for children in armed conflict are created and respected—when all girls can live free from fear and want.  

  Making those dreams come true requires all our efforts. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) needs to hear from girls about what they think is important.  Your experiences, your thoughts, and your feelings count.  Tell the CSW how together we can honor girls’ rights.

 Some students have already spoken out about what they think is important and we have posted their thoughts here.  You are invited to respond to their thoughts or to submit your own.  We will post all or part of as many as we can.  Please send your thoughts to unanimayouth@yahoo.com

 Examples:

Conversation between girls in Lesotho and Seattle on issues facing them.

Child Labor
          Amanda Wang, The State of the Girl Child: Labor and the Girl Child

Education
         Katherine Schiedermayer,   The Right to Education and the Girl Child
         Elizabeth Schmitz-Robinson,   Education in Africa for the Girl Child
         Sydney Stochl,    The Right to Education and the Girl Child
         Rachel Wishkoski,  The Right to Education and the Girl Child:

Poverty
         Krysta Yousoufian,   Poverty and Employment in the Philippines

Sex trafficking
        
         Krys Brezinski , untitled
         Marzieh Goudarzi ,Platform for Girls Right to Protection: Trafficking and the Girl Child

Discrimination