Global Girlhood Report 2021

Table of Contents

Global Girlhood Report 2021: Relevance

GS 1: Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Recently, Global Girlhood Report published by Save the Children where it has reported that more than 22,000 girls are dying in a year from pregnancy and childbirth resulting from child marriage.

West and Central Africa account for nearly half of all estimated child marriage-related deaths globally, or 26 deaths a day.
- Notably, the region witnesses the highest rate of child marriage in the world.
South Asia sees 2,000 child marriage-related deaths every year or six every day, followed by East Asia.

According to the global girlhood report, nearly 80 million child marriages globally have been prevented in the last 25 years, however, the onset of COVID-19 has stalled the progress. Reasons:
- School closure
- Strained health services
- More families into poverty
- Increased risk of violence during lengthy lockdowns
Due to all these reasons, a further 10 million girls are now expected to marry by 2030, leaving more girls at risk of dying.

Gender inequality continues to fuel child marriage.
A belief that children born to young mothers are healthier and smarter is widespread among many communities.
Similarly, there’s also a common perception that younger girls “refresh” older men with their “younger blood.”

Global girlhood report reveals that childbirth is the most widespread reason of teenaged girls’ death because their young bodies aren’t ready to bear children.

Raise girls’ voices by supporting their right to safe and meaningful participation in all public decision-making.
Address, the ongoing risks of gender-based violence, including child marriage, by putting girls’ rights and gender equality at the center of COVID-19 and humanitarian responses.
Guarantee the rights of all girls, including those impacted by different forms of inequality and discrimination by developing inclusive policies and programs.
Safe and ethical data collection must also be improved to better understand and respond in real-time to COVID-19’s impact on existing economic, climate, and conflict-related crises.
Ensure the safe and unrestricted participation of female humanitarian staff in all humanitarian response efforts, such as needs assessments and the design, implementation, and monitoring, and evaluation of all humanitarian services at every level.
Join the Generation Equality movement, working to deliver on the Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality.
The movement set a target to prevent nine million child marriages in five years.