WORLD
POPULATION DAY 2016: Investing in teenage girls for a more just, stable and
peaceful world
The
teenage years are for some girls a time of exploration, learning and increasing
autonomy. But for many others, it is a time of increasing vulnerability and
exclusion from rights and opportunities, or just plain discrimination.
When
a teenage girl has the power, the means and the information to make her own
decisions in life, she is more likely to overcome obstacles that stand between
her and a healthy, productive future. This will benefit her, her family and her
community.
When
she has no say in decisions about her education, health, work or even marital
status, she may never realize her full potential or become a positive force for
transformation in her home, community and nation.
In
some parts of the world, a girl who reaches puberty is deemed by her family or
community as ready for marriage, pregnancy and childbirth. She may be married
off and forced to leave school. She may suffer a debilitating condition, such
as fistula, from delivering a child before her body is ready for it. She may be
denied her human rights.
Governments
everywhere need to invest in teenage girls in ways that empower them to make
important life decisions and equip them to one day earn a living, engage in the
affairs of their communities and be on an equal footing with their male
counterparts.
Investments
are needed to protect their health, including their sexual and reproductive
health, to enable them to receive a quality education and to expand economic
opportunities, including those for decent work.
A
teenage girl whose rights are respected and who is able to realize her full
potential is a girl who is more likely to contribute to the economic and social
progress of her community and nation.
Source:
UNFPA (11 July 2016)