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| © UNICEF video |
| Quilinta Nepaul, 17, of South Africa spoke at the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women and asked that youth voices be heard. |
Over 1,300 children and young people, from 59 countries and eight regions, responded to the questionnaire, either through a focus group or an individual survey, on what can be done to eliminate discrimination and violence against the girl child. The responses were compiled into a final report, "It's time to listen to us!"
On 26 February 2007, the 51st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women opened at United Nations Headquarters in New York, launching two weeks of discussions and events in the run-up to International Women’s Day. The opening statements included an address from a 17-year-old South African girl, Quilinta Nepaul, who asked that youth voices be heard in the debates. Quilinta presented the youth report, "It’s Time to Listen to Us!" and asked the Commission to carefully consider the findings.
“Our report shows that children have strong opinions on how we want to shape our own future,” noted Quilinta. “It is time to listen to us and to act upon it.”
“The key finding of the survey is that unwritten laws still hold incredible power,” said Quilinta. “Many cultural practices are responsible for violations of girls’ rights. The most frequently mentioned practices in this report were dowry and bride price, child and forced marriages, son preference, ‘machismo’ and the female work burden.”
The report includes the following recommendations from young people to governments:
- Invest in and increase access to education for all girls
- Respect and enforce laws that protect girls
- Create gender-positive media messages
- Build the capacity of local leaders to identify and protect ‘invisible’ girls
- Support community organizations working on gender equality
- Support peer-to-peer and non-formal youth groups and networks
“Our report shows that children have strong opinions on how we want to shape our own future,” noted Quilinta. “It is time to listen to us and to act upon it.”
Read the full report:
It's time to listen to us! Youth response to the Report of the Expert Group Meeting on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child
Arabic [PDF]
Chinese [PDF]
English [PDF]
French [PDF]
Russian [PDF]
Spanish [PDF]
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