Next Friday, October 28, 2022 WFWPI will host a virtual forum commemorating the 77th anniversary of United Nations Day and celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of WFWPI. This second annual "UN Dream" event will be on the theme "The UN Dream: Creating an environment where girls can be girls, not brides."
Backgrounder: Every day, 39 thousand girls under the age of 18 are married globally. This equates to approximately 14 million girls annually. Child marriage exposes children to multiple forms of abuse, including intimate partner violence, sexual assault and female genital mutilation, while endangering their mental and physical well-being and denying them of their independence and fundamental rights to liberty and security of person, amongst others. Although child marriages are caused by a variety of overlapping factors, including gender inequality, social and cultural norms and standards, poverty, displacement, conflict, and a lack of education, studies and findings indicate that climate change and other environmental disasters are exacerbating the problem.
The Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI) aims to reflect on the common purpose of the UN and WFWPI and explore hopeful solutions to longstanding issues as we commemorate the 77th anniversary of UN Day and honor the 30th anniversary of the founding of WFWPI. The event will be a virtual forum on the theme, "The UN Dream: Creating an environment where girls can be girls, not brides." Violence against girls cannot be resolved without addressing the effects of climate change and other environmental crises. Thus, in its quest to find sustainable and impactful solutions to address the problems of climate change and child marriages, WFWPI believes that communities can create transformative and enabling environments for families to address the issue of child marriage through integrating such discussion into environmental adaptation initiatives. In partnership with governments and civil society organizations, we strive to create a generation of leaders who can inspire transformation in their communities through championing the issues of girls’ rights and the environment.
