ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

On Saturday 19 July, 2014 HACEP-Ghana represented by Mr. Ziblim Mohammed Abdul Mumin, participated in the YouthForChange event developed by young people. Several Staff of HACEP-Ghana also joined the event through its live stream on the internet. Its aim was to ignite action around girls’ rights and strengthen young people as leaders of the future. The event took place in London and included inspiring talks, interactive sessions, debates and sharing ideas to raise awareness about issues affecting girls. The ambition was to create a “ripple effect” where young advocates take action for girls’ rights.

The UK government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday 22 July also hosted the Girl Summit 2014; they are committed to a world where all girls and women can fulfill their potential free from discrimination and violence.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) are two harmful practices which stand in the way of this vision.

The Girl Summit 2014 built an international support for inspiring local and national efforts to end FGM and CEFM in a generation. The Summit brought together young people, community members, activists, traditional and faith leaders, government and international leaders, experts and champions committed to the rights and empowerment of girls and women. On the day of the Summit, they made commitments to help girls reach their potential and advance their rights owing to the fact that If they fail to take action internationally, within ten years it is estimated that more than 30 million girls and women will undergo FGM in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where the practice is concentrated. One in three girls in developing countries are married by the age of 18, and one in nine by the age of 15 – with some as young as eight. In the UK, over 20,000 girls are at risk of FGM each year and hundreds are vulnerable to forced marriage. This is why #YouthForChange and Girl Summit 2014 were so timely and important.

At HACEP-Ghana, we are committed to enabled a critical conceptual shift from viewing girls as “objects of grooming” for marriage to one of empowered individuals to make decisions about the timing of their marriages and whom to get married to, through girl’s empowerment, and access to information and resources to help them make such decisions, thereby enabling the exercise of their reproductive rights, among others.

Between 2000 and 2010, at least 67 million girls were married before their 18th birthday, despite the passing of laws raising the age of marriage in at least 158 countries. Violence against women continues to be one of the most pervasive forms of human rights violations due to its magnitude as well as its multiple manifestations and negative impacts on girl’s rights and gender equality.

These cases and practices are, without exception, unacceptable human rights violations and a reminder that the agenda to end FGM and CEFM continues to be as relevant today as it was 18 years ago. Many communities also continue to grapple with issues related to identity, lifestyles and different forms of bringing up girls and their implications for social development.

In addition to the above outstanding challenges, the compounding effects of economic and other crises have brought to the surface important new challenges for the universal realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women. Moreover, emerging issues stemming from critical population dynamics - such as urbanization, ageing and migration, that also impact the realization of girls right to sexual and reproductive health - have not been sufficiently addressed and that is why the Post 2015 Development Agenda will have to engage both outstanding and emerging challenges in order to ensure the achievement of more sustainable and equitable development outcomes including with regards to sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women.