Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, has been chosen, along with four
other cities, for the launching of Because I am a Girl (BIAAG) Urban Program.
The program has been launched by
Global child rights organization Plan International, Women in Cities
International (WICI) and UN-Habitat in an effort to build safe, accountable,
and inclusive cities with and for girls in all their diversity.
The three global development
agencies jointly unveiled the program at the 6th World Urban Forum in Naples,
Italy on Sunday.
The BIAAG Urban Program will be
carried out in five cities around the world: Cairo, Delhi, Hanoi, Kampala, and
Lima. It aims to increase girls’ safety within public spaces; enable girls’
autonomous mobility in the city; and strengthen girls’ access to quality city
services.
In all aspects, the BIAAG: Urban
Program will promote the active and meaningful participation of adolescent
girls in urban development and governance.
“This is an endeavor to engage
girls in five cities around the world in making their cities gender inclusive
and safe,” said Tanushree Soni, Regional Gender Program Specialist, Plan Asia.
Currently, there are more people
living in cities than in rural areas. Each month, five million people are added
to the cities of the developing world, and it is estimated that by 2030,
approximately 1.5 billion girls will live in urban areas.
As more people relocate to live
in cities, urban adolescent girls contend with the duality of increased risks
and increased opportunities within urban spaces.
On the one hand girls are more
likely to be educated, less likely to be married at an early age, and more
likely to participate in decision-making. On the other hand, they face sexual
harassment, exploitation, and insecurity as they navigate the urban
environment.
“Investing in girls as part of
this process will not only benefit girls themselves, keeping them safe and
building their assets and skills, but will ensure their contribution to
building a better world for us all,” said Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Deputy
Executive Director, UN-Habitat.
Kathryn Travers, Director of
Programs, Women’s in Cities International, added: “It is adolescent girls’ voices
that drive this process, and it is our hope that girls will be the city
changers of the future”.
The BIAAG Urban Program has been
developed in a participatory manner and has consistently been validated by
adolescent girls along the way.
In 2012, all five cities will
conduct baseline research using innovative and participatory tools developed
specially for the BIAAG Urban Program.
In 2013, the BIAAG Urban Program
will be implemented through strategic partnerships with local partners to make
cities safer for girls, including city governments, civil society
organizations, and adolescent girls themselves.
“Strategic and targeted
investments are required to make urban conditions more responsive to the unique
needs and priorities of adolescent girls,” said Plan’s Global Gender Advisor
Sarah Hendriks.
For further details about the
BIAAG Urban Program or the launch at the World Urban Forum, please contact
Alana Livesey, Plan International, alana.livesey@plan-international.org.
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