COVID-19 pandemic putting more girls in the developing world at greater risk

Sunita is 16. She has been married for four years. At the age of 12, she became a child bride — forced into marriage and out of education by her parents in the Indian state of Bihar.

“It felt terrible because I was still very young and was attending school with my friends,” says Sunita. “All my dreams were shattered in that moment.”

Sunita’s story will only become more commonplace. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 37 million more people into extreme poverty, closed 99 per cent of schools and limited opportunities for girls. The report Global Girlhood 2020: COVID-19 and progress in peril, published today by Save the Children, reveals the pandemic has put an additional 2.5 million girls around the world at risk of child marriage by 2025, undoing 25 years of progress.

As many as one million more girls are at risk of becoming pregnant this year, with childbirth the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. School closures caused by COVID-19 have interrupted education for 1.6 billion children — and there is far less chance of girls returning to the classroom than boys. The picture is alarming.

This is the backdrop as we head toward International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11. The Day of the Girl is an opportunity to spotlight the issues that affect girls around the world and is often a time to celebrate progress. This year feels very different.

The pandemic is pushing more families into poverty. That is forcing many girls to work, to go without food, to become the main caregivers for sick family members. To drop out of school and, in large numbers, never go back.

It is time for the world to act, and act quickly, to protect a generation of at-risk girls. Canada — with a growing reputation as a global leader on gender equality and girls’ rights — has a significant role to play in helping to turn the tide and ensure that progress on the toughest issues that girls and women face is not lost. We have reason to be hopeful.

In the speech from the throne on Sept. 23, the prime minister said: “The government will invest more in international development while supporting developing countries on their economic recoveries and resilience.”

Then on Sept. 29, the prime minister pledged an additional $400 million in international development assistance to support the recovery and resilience of developing countries as they combat COVID-19. He stated, “The ultimate objective is to ensure that the development gains made over the past decade are not lost, and ensure that the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) are not at risk. Canada will make sure that women and girls, who have been disproportionately impacted by the consequences of COVID-19, benefit from this new funding.”

This new funding could not come at a more critical time and must be put to use tackling some of the toughest issues facing women and girls including sexual and reproductive health and rights, education, gender-based violence and child, early and forced marriage. By stepping up, Canada has also given a lead to other donor countries in an effort to protect global gender equality development gains.

In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women made history for the women’s rights agenda with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary blueprint for the empowerment of women and girls. Failure to act will lead to more girls not being able to attend school, more girls that will have to work in low-paying and exploitative work, more girls that will be forced into child and early forced marriage, and more girls dying before womanhood.

Save the Children’s new report shows that in South Asia alone nearly 200,000 more girls are at risk of child marriage in 2020. But it’s not too late to help them.

In India, Sunita is now an advocate against child marriage and for girls’ rights in her village. She is also spreading awareness in the community about the importance of health safety measures to combat COVID-19. She says: “My message to all girls my age would be to delay your marriage and do whatever it takes to fulfil your dreams.”

Girls like Sunita, along with millions of others like her, have the right to have their voices heard across the world. They must be protected, educated, nurtured and given the chance to create and decide their own destiny.

The Day of the Girl is an opportunity to spotlight the issues that affect girls around the world and is often a time to celebrate progress. This year feels very different