GIRLS continue to believe in their potential as political and civic leaders, even when they live in war zones or countries in the grip of authoritarian regimes that suppress women’s rights, a new study suggests.
The study, Dreaming Out Loud, released by World Vision to mark the International Day of the Girl on 11 October, reveals that teenage girls around the world believe in women’s ability to lead, even when they are denied leadership.
In Afghanistan, where girls are now banned from further education by the Taliban, Gulsoom, aged 11, said: “Girls have the same abilities as boys. If a girl has the will and the right opportunities, she can become a leader of her country and serve her people.”
Researchers held 400 interviews with girls from 51 countries. The researchers’ “most striking finding” was their “overwhelming confidence in female leadership potential”.
Although belief in women’s leadership skills was shared by most respondents, girls from countries with female leadership also evidenced the “role-model effect”, which influences the kind of future that girls envisage for themselves.
Anika from Albania said: “The best part of being a girl is the strength we carry. Even when we’re underestimated, we rise. There’s something powerful about being soft and strong at the same time.”
Albania, which lags behind other European countries on measures of gender equality, last month made new commitments at the United Nations General Assembly to eliminating violence against women, and to ensuring government budgets reflected men’s and women’s needs equally.
World Vision’s study suggests that, although girls demonstrate hope and resilience, many also worry about a lack of access to education, because of early marriage, poverty, or sexual harassment. One in three girls was worried about losing access to education. One in five described violence and abuse encountered by teenage girls.
Viola, 16, in South Sudan, said: “If you are a girl and they have not taken you to school, your father can force you to marry someone who has more cows.”
World Vision’s global-advocacy leader, Dana Buzducea, called for renewed international-aid commitments to protecting girls’ futures. “These findings show us that girls are ready to lead change in their families and communities. For many girls, these dreams will remain out of reach unless we act,” she said. “We cannot continue to let poverty, violence, and harmful norms steal their childhoods and futures.”
