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Rawalpindi, 25 July 2001
I am very pleased with the process and outcome of the Symposium on the Girl Child in South Asia, in which children - 28 girls and 6 boys from six South Asian countries -- reviewed progress made towards fulfilling the goals of the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child. I want especially to express my appreciation to the Government of Pakistan for taking the initiative to host this key event. The children's conclusions will inform the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children that will take place in September this year.
The meeting was unique because of the presence as full participants of so many girls and some boys from South Asian countries. The children discussed discrimination as they have experienced it and worked hard to analyze how their human rights are being violated, particularly in the area of education, sexual abuse and exploitation, health and nutrition, and early marriage. The children exchanged their experiences of working in their communities and with NGOs to address these problems.
For, indeed, to be born a girl and poor in South Asia, means having to survive harsher violations of basic human rights than boys.
This is the first meeting ever held in Pakistan with girl children from other South Asian countries present as full participants along with adults. This is a significant contribution of the Government of Pakistan to the cause of child participation and empowerment in South Asia, and we will be very grateful for that. The girls and boys have sent out a clear message to the rest of South Asia and to the world -- that they should be involved in decision-making as equal partners with adults, boys and men. Families, communities and governments must now recognize that children have the capacity to assess and analyze their situation and organize themselves to bring about positive changes in their own lives as well as in their families and communities.
The outcome of the children's efforts is a document entitled the Rawalpindi Call for Partnership and Action which was presented to the First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Sehba Pervez Musharraf. Signed by all the children present at the symposium, the document calls for support from adults and boys to end all forms of discrimination against girls, to involve girls as equal partners in decision making and to create and sustain an environment in which boys and girls have equal opportunities to develop to their full human potential. It asks for equitable health care, comprehensive health education, elimination of harmful practices against girls, and improved nutrition for girls. It asks for good quality, free and compulsory education for all, including children with special needs or from minorities, with no distinction between girls and boys. Perhaps most importantly, it calls adults, especially leaders, to fulfill their commitments to children, and asks adults to listen to children and to place trust in them as partners who can play an active role in solving their own problems. "We believe in a future fit for all girls and boys. We can help to change the world for the better. We can all be Change Makers!
Say YES for Girls!
Say YES for Children!