14 Rights Identified by Girl Awakening Participants
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Girls of the program in Goma, DRC workshopped the Global Girls’ Bill of Rights to create a local version, identifying 14 core human rights they know they should be experiencing. They painted two murals to highlight these rights in their community of 48,000 in Bujovu, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This core network of 300 girls and eight young women mentors are working together to promote and protect these basic rights for themselves and others in their community. The girls and mentors have used the murals to spark discussions about girls' rights in community forums.
14 rights
1. The right to have a name, a nationality, an identity.
2. The right to the highest attainable standard of healthcare, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare. The right to education in sexual and reproductive health.
3. The right to be fed and clothed and to live in a safe home where one can develop their full potential.
4. The right to go to school: to a free, quality primary education.
5. The right to be protected from violence, mistreatment and all forms of abuse and exploitation. The right to be protected from child trafficking and child marriage.
6. The right to equality: Girls should be free from discrimination and harmful stereotypes, whether at home, at school or in our communities
7. The right to be free from war. The right to protection in times of war.
8. The right to have a family, to be cared for and loved.
9. The right to play and have leisure time.
10. The right to freedom of information, expression and participation.
11. The right to shelter, to protection, and to have decent living conditions
12. The right to participation in decision-making and access to leadership positions without fear of discrimination, harassment or persecution.
13. Right to decide for themselves about their bodies and sexuality.
14. Right to protection from harmful traditions and enjoyment of positive cultural practices.
About the Global Girls’ Bill of Rights
The Global Girls' Bill of Rights supports the rights all girls deserve to experience. For the 2019 International Day of the Girl, girls presented the bill to the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. The document reached over 150 million people at launch. The Global Girls' Bill of Rights Toolkits, designed through the work of @shesthefirst, a panel of girls, and contributions from @maia_impact and @akilidada, guide girls on advocating for their rights within their communities—including creating a local bill of rights, organizing an online event, and amplifying the rights on social media.
The Global Girls' Bill of Rights is available in English, Spanish, Kiswahili, and French: girlsbillofrights.org/toolkit
The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of February 18, 2006, as amended in its articles 12 and 14, establishes the principles of equal rights, equal opportunities and equal gender. DRC has ratified several international, regional and sub-regional legal instruments relating to these human rights, including the following listed below. Yet, despite these legal instruments, gross rights violations persist.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women or Maputo Protocol
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
Photos credit: Pamela Tulizo
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