Around 35 per cent of the total population of Pakistan is aged 0-14 years, out of which two million are 10-year-old girls.
‘State of World Population Report 2016’ was launched on Thursday, and this year’s theme is “How Our Common Future Depends on a Girl at This Pivotal Age,” said a press release.
Sharing the key findings of the report, UNFPA Country Representative Dr Hassan Mohtashami said the report shows that if Pakistan were to invest in 10-year-old girls today, it has the potential to receive high individual returns with the potential income of each woman raising USD 18, 773 compared to the current USD 8,928, a significant increase, which would have a far-reaching impact on the economy as well.
Highlights of the report show that girls are less likely than boys to complete schooling and more likely to face forced marriage, child labour, female genital mutilation and other undermining practices.
More than half of the world’s 60 million 10-year-old girls live in the 48 countries with the worst gender inequality. $21 billion a year dividend for developing countries can be unlocked if all 10-year-old girls complete secondary education.
Forced marriage, child labour, female genital mutilation and other practices undermining girls’ health and rights threaten the world’s ambitious development agenda, warns UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
Practices that harm girls and violate their human rights – starting at age 10 – prevent them from realising their full potential as adults and from contributing towards the economic and social progress of their communities and nations.
Without their contribution, the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may never be achieved.
The age of ten is a pivotal age for girls everywhere, as puberty approaches. In some parts of the world, a girl at this age enjoys limitless possibilities and begins making choices that will influence her education and, later, her work life.
But in other parts, a girl who goes through puberty is suddenly seen as a commodity that may be bought, sold or traded, the UNFPA report shows.