Bennie Axella Kana is mother to a baby girl who will turn two in November. She does her best to give her a good present, and future as well. From proper feeding, dressing, playing with her and saving for her education, Kana also nurtures her daughter with good behaviour, something she believes will help her succeed in life. “I wish she succeeds with everything she will want to do in life,” Kana said. However, she understands that her daughter needs her support even more, given that girls have unique challenges that may hinder their achieving of their dreams. “Our society is still patriarchal, and girls are sometimes not given space and opportunities as boys.” Kana added. Indeed, the United Nations estimated that the global internet user gender gap is growing, from 11 per cent in 2013 to 17 per cent in 2019, and widest in the world’s least developed countries at 43 per cent. Also, the percentage of women among Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates is below 15 per cent in over two-thirds of countries. Several other reports indicate that it would take more than a century to close the gender gap, and some of the reasons are factors that could be solved when girls are still young, such as empowering their education and safety. The 2021 Sustainable Development Goals Report estimated that 10 million girls will be at risk of child marriage in the next decade because profound effects of the Covid-19. The girls will be an addition to the 100 million who were projected to become child brides before the pandemic. The report also indicates that while one in three women (736 million) have been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once since the age of 15- usually by an intimate partner, intimate partner violence starts early. “Among girls and women who have ever been married or had a partner, nearly 24 per cent of those aged 15 to 19 years have been subjected to such violence,” the report reads. Girls are also subjected to trafficking in persons, where they are primary victims of sexual exploitation, making 72 percent of detected girl victims. In Rwanda, teenage pregnancy has been on the rise for years, with 17,337 teenagers conceiving in 2017, 19,832 in 2018, 23,544 in 2019, 19,701 in 2020, and 23,000 last year. These and other unique challenges girls face are what led the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 to adopt the International Day of the Girl (IDG) to be marked every October 11. The day is also marked to promote their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights. Rwanda is set to join the rest of the world to mark the day’s 10th anniversary, where the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, will reward 198 best performing girls in primary and secondary schools, including those who had not been rewarded in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic
