It is not new information that girls and women comprise over 50 percent of the world’s population yet remain second class citizens in most societies. Gender inequality affects girls and women economically, socially and politically, and is often reinforced by cultural, social and traditional beliefs and practices. Stereotypes of women’s physical abilities and social roles preserve gender discrimination and create social and cultural barriers that limit girls and women from achieving their full potential.
Six hundred million girls are growing up in developing countries today. Gender inequality and discrimination remains deeply entrenched and widely tolerated throughout the world. It is pervasive and begins at an early age, even before birth. Girls and women are undervalued in society and within their families. Cultural and societal structures and norms allow gender inequality and discrimination to continue. Most societies usurp the power of girls and women to make choices in their lives around marriage, sexual relationships, birth control, employment and economic independence, and domestic abuse.
International authorities, from the World Bank to the United Nations agree that the most effective way to fight poverty in the world is to help girls and women. Research has shown that if you invest in girls, you invest in society, because their education, increased earnings and human development impact their families directly -- the so-called “Girl Effect”. Across cultures, females are the caretakers. Because of this role, when you invest a dollar in a girl, that investment eventually benefits her family and her community. When the individual girl understands her ‘rights’ and believes in herself, she is determined to improve her life and the lives of others.
How does one actually empower a girl? International development and women’s rights organizations have found that education often results in giving women a sense of control over their lives and opening up doors to a more promising future. Sport can have a similarly empowering effect. Over the last decade, sport has increasingly been used as a tool for empowering youth in developing countries. However, opportunities are often dominated by and designed for boys and men. Girls, who face the triple jeopardy of gender and age discrimination in addition to poverty, can benefit from the economic, emotional and physical self-determination. Furthermore, participation in sport and other physical activities that promote fitness, such as yoga or running, can challenge and expand norms pertaining to what is acceptable for girls and women to do.
