Because I am a Girl - Campaign
By Catherine Redfern | 24 July 2009, 12:28
A new campaign has been launched by the charity Plan UK called Because I am a Girl.
Girls around the world are getting a raw deal. In some countries, a girl is seen as a burden and female babies are killed as soon as they are born. If a girl is lucky enough to survive, she is likely to be given less to eat than her brothers. She is more likely to be kept out of school.Plan launched the Because I am a Girl campaign to make sure girls around the world have the same opportunities as boys. We believe that by making sure girls go to school and receive a good quality education, we can break the cycle of poverty and discrimination affecting many communities.
An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ wages by 10 to 20 percent, benefitting their communities, their families and eventually their children.
Plan UK will be launching a series of reports on the state of the world’s girls in September 2009.
[Edited to add: Oops, I just realised this campaign has been running since 2007! But it’s still a good one…]
(I found this via Feminist Webs.)
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Feeds
jess said:
This is such a moving film - I saw it a while ago whilst browsing youtube. I showed it to my boyfriend who shows it in his citizenship lessons at school.
Posted on 24 July 2009 at 6:41 PM
Baz said:
See that's what feminism is all about! It's not about telling women what they can't wear, or what hobbies they shouldn't have, or what they can't do with their bodies, or what they can't compete in, like what one finds on this blog most of the time.
Posted on 24 July 2009 at 8:01 PM
baz said:
(please add this to the end of my previous comment if it gets selected)
I know you people have the best intentions at heart but telling women what they can't do isn't going to help them.
Posted on 25 July 2009 at 12:59 AM
Catherine Redfern said:
Ridiculous. I have seen no-one on this blog *ever* tell women what they can't wear, what they can't do etc, in fact the opposite.
If you are thinking of where people blog about discrimination which may cause extra obstacles for women, for example in sports etc, then that isn't telling women they can't do that thing. It is pointing out discrimination. It's a very different thing.
Posted on July 25, 2009 12:07 PM
Lilly said:
"See that's what feminism is all about!"
But what feminism *isn't* about is men showing up on feminist blogs to inform women "what feminism is all about"
Posted on 25 July 2009 at 1:00 PM
Cate said:
The Because I Am A Girl campaing is also include as part of GirlGuiding UK's Change the World campaign (ambitious title, I know!).
My Brownie pack were very keen to help this cause, but sadly it was too difficult to fully explain the circumstances these girls live in without giving all the Brownies nightmares! So I was politely as by the District Commissioner to choose a less, um, scary topic.
I hope that leaders of Guide and Ranger packs will have picked up on this though, because it is such a worthwhile cause, and something which I think young people should be made aware of.
Posted on 26 July 2009 at 2:25 PM
polly styrene said:
"But what feminism *isn't* about is men showing up on feminist blogs to inform women "what feminism is all about"
Well said Lilly. Some men seem to think women can't possibly function without their manly wisdom to guide us....
Posted on 26 July 2009 at 3:54 PM
Jackie Bather said:
Re:the comment about men turning up on feminist sites and making weighty pronouncements...I've seen this elsewhere and don't feel comfortable about it at all. On Facebook, there are support groups for women, who have experienced abuse from men and are clearly meant for women only.Even so, men leave comments, that they think are gems of wisdom, when their presence is actually disturbing.
Posted on 26 July 2009 at 6:31 PM
Lara said:
Never seen a comment on here telling someone they CAN'T do something or CAN'T wear something. Quite the opposite actually. How sad this thread about such a meaningful cause has been hijacked by a sad man with bitter words.
Posted on 27 July 2009 at 1:06 PM
Mobot said:
Oh dear. I think Baz's comments were misguided, and that's me being generous! I suppose I can see why folks get defensive sometimes- when feminists complain about things that we/they feel are marginalising to women, it can sometimes come across as disapproval aimed towards women... I know I've had many a debate with other feminists because of this! I think whether Baz is a man or a woman also makes a bit of a difference - care to divulge? I suppose either way, it's nobody's business to declare a monopoly on what feminism is 'about'.
Anyway, back on the topic of the ad, I think it's great, very moving... although to nit-pick a wee bit, what's up with the English accent? It doesn't take much away from the thing as a whole but it surely wouldn't have been difficult to find someone actually from one of the countries in question so as not to come across as a bit patronising.
Posted on 27 July 2009 at 8:14 PM
Nora Russell said:
I'm really glad you liked the film and I think it explains what Plan is fighting for (even if it is with an english accent - trust me the US version is worse!)
Cate; just a quick note to say that we've had 79 Brownie units and 40 Rainbows do the Plan Changing the World project and we've had some great photos and art work in from the younger girls, so it is a topic that can be approached sensitively. The activity packs do take the differnet age ranges into account so we don't focus on issues of abuse & child marriage and more on the rights that all children, boy and girl should have. If you want to use the activity packs for next term they'll still be available online at www.girlguiding.org.uk/changingtheworld/p_plan_uk_home.asp
Thanks so much for all your support and if you've signed the pledge that's great news!
Posted on 03 August 2009 at 3:56 PM