100,000 Girls
Are at War, Reveals Report
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20,000,000 girls are out of school in war zones
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15 May 2008: 1 in 5 countries have used girls as child soldiers, and
100,000 are currently fighting in conflicts around the world, reveals a new
report by Plan.
Conflict can also force girls from their homes, leave them
caring for younger siblings or at risk from rape, beatings and
abduction.
These shocking revelations are included in Plan’s annual ‘Because I am a
Girl’ report, which this year focuses on girls and conflict.
Plan is now calling on the United Nations to allow girls to bring
complaints against their leaders if their lives have been damaged by war.
Urgent call
President of Liberia, and Africa’s first elected woman leader, Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf, said: “This report sheds an important and critical light
on the often overlooked plight of girls in post-conflict countries that are
rife with hostility which threatens their survival and potential.
“Urgent intervention is required to give girls a chance to lead normal
lives that include obtaining an education and access to health care.”
Millions at
risk
Figures in the report reveal:
- 38 countries have
used girl soldiers in armed conflict in the last 2 decades
- 200,000,000 girls
live in countries that are at risk of, in the midst of or emerging
from armed conflict
- About 20,000,000
girls are out of school in war zones
Discrimination
Girls also fare badly after the fighting stops as discrimination makes
it far more difficult for them to get back into school or find jobs.
The knock-on effect of this not only means a girl’s life chances are
severely limited, but that the economic future of the country is also
severely handicapped.
The report stresses the need for the protection of girls’ rights and
their involvement in decision-making and post-conflict reconciliation.
Fighting for
rights
Christiana, from northern Sierra Leone, was just 14 years old when she
was captured and raped by rebels in 1998. Now she campaigns on behalf of
rape victims.
"I think that fighting for the rights of girls is very important.
"It has helped young women like me who have been badly treated to
develop pride in themselves," she said.
Take action
Please take action - sign the pledge via Plan UK's Because
I am a Girl campaign site
Read the full report:
Because
I Am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008
(5mb | 185 pages)