What is Day of the Girl?
International Women's Day and International Day of the Child have long been celebrated, but neither recognise the unique position of girls, who are discriminated against simply for being young and female.
Over the course of a two-year campaign, Plan International built a coalition of support for a day that would celebrate the inherent power of girls while raising awareness of the unique barriers they face.
In 2011, thanks to Plan's efforts and the support of the Canadian Government, the United Nations made it official, and on October 11, 2012, the world celebrated the first ever International Day of the Girl.
This Day of the Girl, we're taking inequality out of the equation.
The world is less stable than it has been for generations, with conflict, the climate crisis, soaring poverty, and rising child marriage putting girls at even greater risk.
At this rate, it’ll be 134 years until we achieve global gender equality. That’s five more generations of girls. We say enough is enough.
Every day Plan supports girls living through crisis, protecting their rights, ensuring their safety, and celebrating their infinite potential.
When they’re not held back, they are capable of extraordinary things.
Join us on October 11 and be part of the movement for girls.
We won't stop until we are all equal.
Here's how you can be part of the movement
We’re celebrating Day of the Girl with our annual Giving Day. Donate on October 11 and your gift will be doubled!
That means providing twice as many girls with the support they need to forge their own destinies.
Watch our animated video series featuring girls from around the globe.
This #DayOfTheGirl, join the conversation with @plan_australia and follow the hashtag #UntilWeAreAllEqual
And if you want to keep up to date with our work, subscribe to our monthly e-Newsletter!
Hear from girls around the world
For International Day of the Girl, we're sharing a series of animated stories featuring the real stories and voices of girls Plan works with from around the globe.
Meet Kupa
Meet Nastya
Meet Lena
Meet Fatima*
Meet Mary*
The State of the World's Girls Research
The State of the World Girls is a series of research reports released every year for International Day of the Girl.
This research seeks to raise the voices of girls and young women across the globe by focusing on the issues that matter most to them.
2024: Still We Dream
This year’s report focuses on the wars and conflicts that are raging around the world. We’ve spoken to over 10,000 girls and boys from 10 countries, from Sudan to Lebanon, Ukraine to the Philippines.
Despite having their lives upended, the resilient young people we spoke to still have big dreams and ambitions for the future. They want support to return to school, and they still hope to become doctors, teachers, journalists, engineers and pilots.
2023: Turning the World Around
With a focus on girls’ and young women’s activism, this research is one of the largest studies of girl and young women activists to date, involving over 1,000 adolescent girls and young women across 26 countries.
Face-to-face interviews were led by 70 young women researchers who are themselves activists and their findings are supported by focus group discussions using participatory techniques.
2022: Equal Power Now
In the 2022 State of the World’s Girls report, hear from 29,000 girls and young women from 29 countries as they navigate the political landscape.
+ Girl, Interrupted – 10 years of girls’ rights in Australia
A special Australia-focused report for the 10th anniversary of Day of the Girl, looking at the progress, the setbacks and how to accelerate equality for all.
2021: The Truth Gap
The 2021 State of the World’s Girls report explores how misinformation and disinformation online affect the lives, learning and leadership of girls and young women, and examine the behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that limit girls’ freedom and opportunities in specific environments or sectors. Plan International spoke to 14,000 girls in 22 countries around the world, ages 15 to 24.
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