• Home Page
  • All Posts
Friday, August 12, 2022
SocialPolicy English edition
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Social Protection
    • Social Cohesion
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Social Protection
    • Social Cohesion
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
SocialPolicy English edition
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

International Day of the Girl Child: Gender inequality issues and the “Double-Edged Sword” of the Developmental Agenda

International Day of the Girl Child: Gender inequality issues and the “Double-Edged Sword” of the Developmental Agenda
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Dounis Andreas*

On October the 11th, the international community is celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child (Day of the Girl) highlighting gender inequalities that are also predominant at younger ages, creating a cause for concern for policy-makers, international organizations, social actors and stakeholders.

This theme of the year 2015 was: “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030”, with a view on the broader developmental agenda reaching out until the year 2030, with the well-being of girls’ constituting a main focus of new developmental efforts.

Inequalities and inequities still persist. These phenomena range from the inequities of access in secondary education, the engendered lack of child and social protection, the gender dimension of child poverty and the overall lack of public awareness of the girls’ situation. Also phenomena such as forced child marriages, unwanted pregnancies and the gender dimension of violence continue to affect young and teenage girls.

 

Inclusion of the dimension of the situation of girls in the developmental agenda is seen as an important move, but we are not so sure that it constitutes a fully effective and comprehensive strategy.

Challenges and potentials surely do co-exist, but the design and implementation of policies must be certainly aware of the existing engendered framework of social relations that continue to subordinate girl and women during the course of the life-stages.

Thus, the developmental agenda must not rely on the same framework and the normalization of girls’ social roles and social expectations.

Although the strategies to attain sustainable development surely can improve girls’ situation and life prospects, the proposed “investments” must not recreate a socially constructed position where girls will be ultimately responsible for the “attainment of developmental goals”.

 

According to the United Nations webpage event presentation:

UN agencies, Member States, civil society organizations, and private sector stakeholders are called on to commit to putting adolescent girls at the centre of sustainable development efforts by making the following critical investments in their present and future:

 

• Invest in high quality education, skills, training, access to technology and other learning initiatives that prepare girls for life, jobs, and leadership.

• Invest in health and nutrition suitable to the adolescent years, including puberty education, menstrual hygiene management, and sexual and reproductive health education and services.

• Promote zero tolerance against physical, mental, and sexual violence.

• Enact and consistently implement social, economic, and policy mechanisms to combat early marriage and female genital mutilation.

• Invest in the creation and maintenance of social and public spaces for civic and political engagement, creativity and talent enhancement.

• Promote gender-responsive legislation and policies across all areas especially for adolescent girls who are disabled, vulnerable and marginalized, and victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

 

These policies and mechanisms appear – on first reading – to be on the right direction. But, girls should not bear the burden of “sustainable development”, but on the contrary ultimately “conquer” their own desirable roles in their personal, professional, social and family lives.

 

* Dounis Andreas has completed his Post-Graduate Education at the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University and is a PhD candidate of the same department. He is the Founder and Content Manager at socialpolicy.gr.

 

Read Also  Controlling the Message: Challenges for independent reporting in Greece
Tags: gender equalitygender inequalityopinionssustainable development

Related Posts

Transforming social services: Why we need a new model of care

Transforming social services: Why we need a new model of care

by fGxfvU1nE7
August 1, 2022
0

We need to work jointly to change the current model of care within the wider transformation of social services

Deleuze “after” Kristeva: Affective Genesis and the Potential for Critique

Almost 1 in 2 women in the EU have experienced psychological violence

by fGxfvU1nE7
July 25, 2022
0

EIGE’s latest report on coercive control and psychological violence across the EU Member States proves high prevalence. However, increased criminalisation measures are...

Social policy developments in Cyprus and Romania

Include the right to abortion in EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, demand MEPs

by fGxfvU1nE7
July 25, 2022
0

EU countries must guarantee access to safe, legal and free abortion services

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Greece | Second Annual Report on Violence Against Women

by fGxfvU1nE7
July 25, 2022
0

This Report by the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality (GSFPGE) is the second annual report...

Load More
Next Post
COVID-19 seen worsening overall trend in human trafficking

COVID-19 seen worsening overall trend in human trafficking

Open letter about the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan

Open letter about the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Facts and figures on protecting the social security rights of persons moving around in the EU
  • Social Europe: More transparent and predictable working conditions for workers in EU
  • Transforming social services: Why we need a new model of care
  • Fundamental Rights Report 2022
  • ESSPASS Pilot Project – exploring a new digital tool to help mobile citizens exercise their social security rights across borders

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 22 other subscribers

Follow us on twitter

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021

Categories

  • Articles
  • Employment
  • Employment Policies
  • Events
  • Featured
  • Gender Equality
  • Health Policies
  • Jobs
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Master's Studies
  • Mental Health
  • Opinion
  • PhD Opportunities
  • Social Cohesion
  • Social Economy
  • Social Housing
  • Social Inclusion
  • Social Policy
  • Social Policy Programs
  • Social Protection
  • Social Theory
  • Traineeships
  • Uncategorized
  • All Posts
  • Home Page

© 2021 socialpolicy.gr

No Result
View All Result
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Cohesion
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
    • Social Protection
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion

© 2021 socialpolicy.gr