International Day of the Girl: 15 million girls under the age of 18 are married every year - that's one every two seconds

Today is the sixth annual International Day of the Girl.

Political figures need to stand up and be allies to girls suffering from gender inequality across the world, according to Human Rights Commissioner.

Today is the sixth annual International Day of the Girl, a 24-hour period set aside to celebrate girls and to highlight, discuss and advance their lives and opportunities across the globe.

Plan International, which organises the day, has released a report of research conducted in Columbia, Uganda and Spain which outlines that gender inequality is still rampant in societies across the world.

 

It highlighted the fact that access to education should not be determined by a child’s gender, yet 130 million girls globally are out of school and 15 million girls of primary school age will never even enter a classroom.

A key obstacle to girls participating in school life if child marriage, according to the report. Every year, 15 million girls under the age of 18 are married – one every two seconds.

Today is the sixth annual International Day of the Girl. Read Full Story