(OTTAWA) - Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (Saanich- Gulf Island), released the following call to action regarding International Day of the Girl Child:
“Today is the day when we focus our attention on the Girl Child, but it is not a day in isolation. It is part of a massive and relentless drive towards a world of equality: A Planet 50-50 by 2030.
“Every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. While they hold the potential to become leaders and effect change, their empowerment can be hindered by factors such as unwanted pregnancy, forced early marriage, gender-based violence, and limited access to higher education and reproductive health services.
“Political, Social and economic investments in the power of adolescent girls are fundamental to breaking the intergenerational transfer of poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination.”
Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi, Green Party Status of Women Critic, and candidate (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) continued:
“The Green Party recognizes that if girls are effectively supported during the adolescent years, they have the potential to change the world both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders.
“The commitment by the global community to realizing the potential of adolescent girls will directly translate into them becoming powerful and positive agents of change.”
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