On this International Day of the Girl, we celebrate the courage and leadership of girls everywhere, especially those facing crisis and conflict. Girls like Sandra Patricia Aguilar Carabalí in northern Cauca, Colombia, are defying exclusion and leading efforts to protect land, peace, and their communities.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration, we reaffirm that investing in girls' rights is both a moral duty and a strategic choice. Progress has been made: adolescent motherhood has nearly halved, child marriage has declined, and many countries have outlawed discrimination and violence while expanding access to education and health. These advances show what is possible when governments and communities commit to girls' rights.
Yet, progress is fragile. 122 million girls are still out of school globally, nearly 1 in 5 young women aged 20-24 were first married before 18, and 50 million girls alive today have experienced sexual violence. Each year, four million girls undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), half before their fifth birthday. At the current pace, progress needs to be 27 times faster to end FGM by 2030.
In 2024, 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict, facing disrupted education, violence, and barriers to health. The cost of inaction is immense, measured in lost lives and stalled futures.
The Gender Snapshot 2025 presents clear evidence that investing in adolescent girls multiplies benefits for children, communities, and economies. In Africa alone, such investments could generate USD 2.4 trillion in new income by 2040. Every additional year of secondary education boosts a girl's potential income by 10-20 per cent. Comprehensive action across social protection, education, the green economy, labour markets, innovation, and governance could lift 52 million additional women and girls out of extreme poverty by 2030.
UN Women stands with girls everywhere-with every girl whose rights are threatened, whose voice is silenced, and whose leadership goes unrecognized.
Thirty years ago, we promised girls equality. Today, we must deliver.
