Call to target girls’ funding in gender equality push
It may be on the other side of the world, but the Australian government is being warned that the Middle East crisis is increasing the need for direct aid funding for teenage girls who are at risk of cascading crises in the Asia Pacific.
Girls’ equality organization Plan International Australia said the knock-on effects of fuel and fertilizer shortages resulting from conflict in Iran, which has led to food insecurity and economic instability, were particularly serious for teenage girls.
As fuel prices rise, so do the costs of transportation, food and basic goods, pushing already vulnerable households deeper into poverty.
Plan International Australia said this had led to an increase in gender-based violence, more girls being pulled out of school and forced to work, and increased rates of child marriage.
On: Women DeliverAt a major gender equality conference in Melbourne, a coalition of leading aid, development and gender organisations, as well as philanthropic partners, is shedding light on the disproportionate impact of economic instability and conflict on young girls.
The group particularly highlights the economic case for Australia and other donor countries in the region to invest in adolescent girls in Asia Pacific.
“The ripple effects of the Middle East crisis and fuel shortages across Asia are extremely worrying and risk undermining already fragile economies and communities,” Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena said.
“But adolescent girls represent a powerful solution and could be a turning point in all of this… When their rights are protected and their leadership is strengthened, they help build fairer, safer and more sustainable societies.
“When we invest in girls, everything changes: Girls become women of choice, and entire communities rise with them.”
Plan International Australia is calling on the federal government to commit $50 million over four years to the International Gender Equality Strategy.
Funding should be directed to initiatives that clearly benefit adolescent girls in education, health, violence prevention, climate response, and economic inclusion.
“If Australia wants its aid to do more good, investing in girls early is one of the smartest and most cost-effective choices it can make,” Ms Legena said.
“If we don’t act now, we risk failing an entire generation of girls.”
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