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“You have to raise collective awareness… you have to communicate with other people, because a single person can’t change the world. An idea can, certainly, but you need other hands, other eyes, other voices to make it a stronger initiative.” Cecilia, Mexico
This is the eighth in the annual ‘Because I am a Girl’ report series, published by Plan, which assesses the current state of the world’s girls. While women and children are recognised in policy and planning, girls’ needs and rights are often ignored. The reports provide evidence, including the voices of girls themselves, as to why they need to be treated differently from boys and adult women. They also use information from primary research, in particular a small study set up in 2006 following 142 girls from nine countries. Past reports have covered education, conflict, economic empowerment, cities and technology, adolescent girls and disasters and how boys and young men can support gender equality. Plan is an international development agency and has been working with children and their communities in 50 countries worldwide for over 75 years.
plan-international.org/girls ISBN 978-92-9250-022-1
Young woman from Timbuktu. P l a n / B e ttin a B a u e r
the State of the World’s Girls 2014
The report series
Because I am a Girl
“This generation may be the best equipped ever to make equality between the sexes a reality. Today, they have the power of a better education and of new and increasingly liberating communications tools. They also have the example of the generations ahead of them who have been fighting to achieve equal rights and equal power; with control over their lives, to make the choices they want and to lead a meaningful and happy life. While millions of people, of both sexes, still struggle to achieve this state of affairs, the challenge remains much greater for girls and young women.” Alice Albright CEO, Global Partnership for Education
Because I am a Girl th e State o f th e Wo r ld ’ s G i r l s 2014
Pathways to Power: Creating Sustainable Change for Adolescent Girls