2012 International Day of the Girl Child in Guelph

Last December, following a two-year petition by Plan International, the United Nations declared October 11 2012 the first International Day of the Girl Child. This day will promote girls' human rights by highlighting persistent gender inequalities between girls and boys around the world.

The theme for the 2012 International Day of the Girl Child is "Ending Child Marriage." This practice violates the rights of millions of girls every year. It robs them of their childhood, it disrupts their education, and it jeopardizes their health. Child marriage limits girls’ opportunities and impacts all aspects of their lives.

 
On October 11, 2012, between noon and 5 pm, CFUW Guelph will be screening four films highlighting the struggle of girls, at home and abroad.

• Shannen's Dream is a film about Shannen Koostachin and her belief that every First Nation child should have the right to go to a safe and ‘comfy’ school.  
• A Walk to Beautiful, an award winning feature-length documentary, tells the stories of five Ethiopian women who suffer from devastating childbirth injuries and embark on a journey to reclaim their lost dignity.  
• To Educate a Girl, filmed in Nepal and Uganda, two countries emerging from conflict and struggling with poverty, addresses the question “What does it take to educate a girl?” 
• Mohawk Girls, filmmaker Tracey Deer, like half the teenagers in Kahnawake, utilized government subsidies to attend private school in Montreal. Vowing never to return, she left the reserve to attend college in the U.S. Now a graduate of Dartmouth University, she has come home to Kahnawake to play a role in the evolution of her community.

Admission is free.
Date: Thursday, October 11, 2012
Time: 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Place: Guelph Public Library
For more information, email us.