A girl born in 1995, the year governments made their promises in Beijing, is now a young woman who is yet to experience gender equality in all aspects of her life. Every girl deserves the opportunity to reach her full potential.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was a landmark agreement on women’s rights and girls’ empowerment. Thirty years later, progress has been made, but the world is still far from achieving true gender equality. Girls continue to face major barriers to education, including harmful gender norms, child marriage, early pregnancy, lack of government investment, violent conflict, and climate-related challenges. Despite stronger policies, gender-based violence (GBV) is on the rise due to weak enforcement and limited access to justice for survivors.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by poverty, migration, and climate change, leaving them more vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and exclusion from essential services. While women contribute significantly to community development, their representation in leadership and decision-making remains far behind their responsibilities.
Together with other Religious Congregation members of the Justice Coalition on Religious (JCoR), we highlighted the work that we are doing on the ground to address these challenges and contribute to achieving gender equality in their community and globally. In Jicamaraca (Peru), projects like “Healthy Women and Children” provide medical care, cancer prevention, and nutrition support to hundreds of women and children. In India, the Chirag Centre offers vocational training, microfinance, and healthcare to empower women and girls. In Huaycán (Peru), women-led initiatives like *Niñez sin Miedo* train child advocates to combat violence and protect children’s rights.
We also submitted a statement in collaboration with members of the Working Group on Girls (WGG) based on responses by students in our Mary Ward schools. Together with other girls from around the world, they issued global calls to action, urging governments to:
- Guarantee inclusive, quality education with STEM training, digital literacy, and menstrual health support.
- Promote girls’ leadership by challenging harmful cultural norms and ensuring girls’ voices shape decision-making.
- Strengthen laws to end gender-based violence, including child marriage, FGM, and online harassment.
- Invest in girls’ healthcare and mental health services, especially for survivors of violence.
- Protect girls from the impacts of climate change and involve them in sustainability and disaster resilience planning.
To fulfill the promises of the Beijing Declaration, urgent global action is needed to dismantle systemic barriers, invest in women and girls’ futures, and create a more inclusive and sustainable world where every girl and woman can thrive.
Read the full JCoR Written Statement ICI.
Lire la déclaration écrite du Groupe de travail sur les filles ICI.
