October 11 was the International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme was “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Data Movement” which means that what counts for girls is to be counted.
United Nations General Assembly voted to pass the resolution 66/170 on December 19, 2011 adopting October 11, 2012 as the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child.
Girl child is specially focused in Sustainable Development Goals.
“Every girl has the right to a safe and successful transition into adulthood and the right to embrace the opportunities that the future holds for her. Now is the time to fully exploit the power of data as one of the most critical tools for development and for protecting and promoting adolescent girls’ rights,” said United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, issuing a statement on the International Day of the Girl Child.
The issue of child marriage and teenage pregnancy, which threaten the health, lives and future prospects of girls across Sri Lanka must be specially focused on this International Day of Girl Child.
Sri Lanka has made huge progress in addressing child marriage and teenage pregnancy. But many Sri Lankan girls are still deprived of a carefree childhood and the opportunity to realize their full potential because of child marriages and teenage pregnancies.
According to official statistics (2015) there are over 20,780 girls aged between 12 to 17 years in Sri Lanka who are married or in cohabiting relationships. According to the Family Health Bureau, 5.3% of all registered pregnancies are teenage pregnancies.
Child marriage is definitely a grave violation of human rights. The issue direclty impact the education of the girls negatively.
Further, the young girls lack the power of decision making in sexual and reproductive matters. In most cases, they are undereducated on sexual and reproductive health and lack knowledge on family planning.
As a result, they are at a high risk of maternal and reproductive health problems which include complications in pregnancy or childbirth and other long term health challenges.
In 2014, according to the maternal mortality report of the Ministry of Health, out of the 112 maternal deaths occurred in the year, 4% are less than 20 years of age.
Young girls who are either married or in cohabiting relationships are also more likely to experience domestic violence, including grave sexual abuse.
Some cultural practices of Sri Lanka contribute to the high prevalence of child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
In this context, it is highly important that the national legal framework is fully brought in line with the requirements of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) regarding the age of marriage, to address this grave issue. Also, the laws must be fully enforced to ensure the rights of girls across the nation.
(This article was originally published in www.kiyanna.lk. That site is now changed to www.ivoice.lk owned by SDJF and supported by UNFPA)
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
I agree to the following:
- My story is my own work and does not contain plagiarized material or violate any copyright infringements
- My work is subjected to an editorial committee review that may add, remove, or amend my story, if necessary, to enhance its value
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