“Girls today enjoy better life prospects than previous generations in many ways,” but they are enduring serious inequalities during disasters and conflict, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem says.
In a statement to mark international Day of the Girl Child, Kanem says “there are “social forces against them,” citing increasing gender-based violence, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe deliveries.
Amidst entrenched gender inequalities, Kanem says “disasters and conflict can make a bad situation even worse for girls,” something that makes them more vulnerable to child marriage, sexual and gender-based violence.
As girls and their families struggle to survive during conflicts and disasters, the UNFPA official says they are also vulnerable to child trafficking, rape and sexual slavery, facing the sad reality of reduced access to healthcare.
“Prosperity and nutrition are improving, child marriage and teenage pregnancy are declining, and female educational attainment and participation in the labour force are on the rise,” Kanem notes.
The UNFPA chief however says “these advances are far from universal and are increasingly tenuous in many parts of the world.”
According to him, one in four girls will be married before she is 18, while one in five adolescent girls aged 15-19 will give birth.
The poorest—particularly girls—are said to be often left behind and their rights undermined.
“Girls get less education, have fewer opportunities and are more likely to take jobs that pay less and involve more risk than girls who are economically better off,” the UNFPA Executive Director says.