Change: The revolution will be led by a 12-year-old girl.
If you want to end poverty and help the developing world, the best thing you can do is invest time, energy, and funding into
adolescent girls. It's called The Girl Effect, because girls are uniquely capable of investing in their communities and making the world
better. But here are 10 things that stand in their way:
1. LET'S SEE SOME ID
Without a birth certificate or an ID, a girl in the developing world
doesn't know and can't prove her age, protect herself from child
marriage, open a bank account, vote, or eventually get a job. That
makes it hard to save the world.
2. ILLITERACY DOESN'T LOOK GOOD ON A RESUME...
70% of the world's out-of-school children are girls. Girls deserve
better. They deserve quality education and the safe environments
and support that allow them to get to school on time and stay there
through adolescence.
3. ...AND PREGNANCY DOES NOT LOOK GOOD ON A LITTLE GIRL
Child marriages are the norm in many cultures where women's
bodies aren't considered their own property. Pregnancy is the leading
cause of death for girls 15—18 years old. Girls have a right to be able
to protect their health and their bodies.
4. THE FACE OF HIV IS INCREASINGLY YOUNG AND FEMALE
When girls are educated about HIV, they stand a better chance of
protecting themselves. But education is not enough. Girls need to be
empowered and supported to make their own choices.
5. A NICE PLACE TO WORK WOULD BE NICE
If girls have the skills for safe and decent work, if they understand their rights,
if they are financially literate and considered for nontraditional jobs at an appropriate age,
if they get their fair share of training and internships, they will be armed and ready for
economic independence.
6. THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL, BUT IT'S GOING TO YOUR BROTHER
Less than two cents of every international aid dollar spent in the developing world is earmarked
for girls. And yet when a girl has resources, she will reinvest them in her community at a much
higher rate than a boy would. If the goal is health, wealth, and stability for all, a girl is
the best investment.
7. ADOLESCENT GIRLS AREN'T JUST "FUTURE WOMEN"
They're girls. They deserve their own category. They need to be a
distinct group when we talk about aid, education, sports, civic
participation, health, and economics. Yes, they are future mothers.
But they actually live in the present.
8. LAWS WERE MADE TO BE ENFORCED
Girls need advocates to write, speak up, lobby, and work to enforce
good laws and change discriminatory policies.
9. SHE SHOULD BE A STATISTIC
We won't know how to help girls until we know what's going on with
them. Hey, all you governments and NGOs and social scientists:
You're accountable! We need an annual girl report card for every
country so we can keep track of which girls are thriving and which
girls are not.
10. EVERYONE GETS ON BOARD OR WE'RE ALL OVERBOARD
Boys, girls, moms, dads. If we don't all rally to support girls, nothing is
going to change. Not for them, and not for us. Change starts with you.
So get going.
Want to act? Download Your Move.
