Celebrating and Empowering Girls

In church yesterday there was a brief mention of Unicef's International Day of the Girl, which falls on October 11th every year. Of course it was Thanksgiving Sunday here in Canuck Land so not really the occasion to explore the theme. 

I was reminded of the Day of the Girl earlier by an CBC The Current interview with Rona Ambrose, the former federal Conservative cabinet minister who would have been my choice for a new leader of the party. Ambrose was instrumental in having this day created by the UN after an encounter with a group of girls from around the world who asked her to get involved. As she shared this story she became emotional even though the moment occurred nearly a decade ago. Recently Ambrose published a children's book 

We are aware of the vulnerability of children in many societies, including our own, and particularly Indigenous children. In some countries girls are forced into the sex trade at an early age.  Some become brides when they are still children. Others are forced to leave school for various reasons, including the current pandemic. 

Women perform a flash mob to occupy a street on International Women's Day in Manila, Philippines, on March 8. Ambrose says having the UN recognize a day to celebrate girls opens the door for young people to talk about women's rights. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

The interview got me thinking about children in the New Testament and I realized that there just aren't a lot of references. In many ancient cultures children were quasi-people because of the high rates of child mortality. Jesus is mentioned as a boy and as an adult he told the disciples to let children get close to him and suggested that if anyone did them harm it would be better if that person was drowned -- that's about as forceful as he gets! Jesus also raised from the dead the 12-year-old daughter of a man called Jairus.

Then I realized that by the standards of our culture Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a child bride, if in fact she was a teen when she discovered she was pregnant as many scholars speculate. For Mary there was the revelation that she was blessed rather than cursed by the unsettling and extraordinary news. For too many girls childhood and opportunities in life come to an abrupt end when they treated as commodities or restricted and demeaned by societal mores. 

 We can be proud that there is a Canadian connection to the Day of the Girl and pray that every child, every girl has the opportunity to live a meaningful life and to fulfill God-given talents. 

I am thankful for our two wonderful, accomplished daughters this Thanksgiving day, and want the very best for our precious granddaughter.